Mitch Romney, a Mormon, however, is one presidential possibility who might be vulnerable to stereotyping. The governor of Massachusetts (not Utah) could suffer the slings and arrows tossed around on "Big Love," the raunchy television drama on HBO about a Viagra-popping Mormon husband with three needy wives and lots of whining in-laws. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints no longer permits polygamy (nor does the law), though some "jack Mormons" in Arizona and Utah still practice it in remote places on the shady side of the law.
Romney ought to be able to finesse the religious issue with a Jack Kennedy-like statement: "I am not the Mormon candidate for president. I am the Republican Party's candidate for president who also happens to be a Mormon. I do not speak for my Church on public matters -- and the Church does not speak for me." But the jokes, some funnier than others, would be merciless.
Are there still racists and male chauvinists in our midst? You bet. (Borat is getting rich as a make-believe bigot.) But they don't have the impact they once did. Nancy Pelosi draws attention to the fact that she's a grandmother in the House, conjuring associations that run against type in discussions of leadership. Barack Obama gives strong voice to Bill Cosby's reminders that accepting personal responsibility and civil behavior is the short route out of the ghetto, that real men prove their manhood by taking care of the children they sire. His critics sneer at Mr. Cosby as part of the "Afristocracy," the black elite, playing to the stereotypes of the racists, but both he and Sen. Obama impress everyone else as confident, competent and ready for prime time.
Confident and competent blacks and women are no longer the exceptions on the landscape. They grew up from the grass roots that gave them legitimacy based on merit and accomplishment, not appeals to pity and charity for overcoming past prejudice. The old caricatures, like the soft bigotry of low expectations, are out. They've come a long way, baby. So have we all.