The road not taken

Imagine for a moment that Mitt Romney gave this nationally televised speech from the pulpit of the Tremont Temple Baptist Church on Sunday night:

Ladies and gentlemen, religious leaders, and true believers the nation over, I thank you for taking a few moments to listen to my views on a topic I've gotten to know a little bit about in my time as governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

I am, for the record, opposed to gay marriage. I believe, as should be clear to anyone and everyone listening and watching tonight, that marriage should be between a man and a woman, that every child should have a mother and a father.

But I've been reminded of a few things in the 2 1/2 years since the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts legalized gay marriage.

I've been reminded that experience, real life experience, should influence ideology. I've been reminded that fears aren't always a precursor to reality. I've been reminded that the human spirit not only endures amid times of significant change, but it thrives.

More than anything else, I've learned over these 2 1/2 years that my marriage to Ann has not been affected one iota by the legalization of gay marriage. My sons' marriages are no less strong and loving. The marriages of my neighbors and of my friends have not suffered because men are allowed to marry men and women are allowed to marry women.

And I will tell you something else. The moral fabric of Massachusetts has not torn because of gay marriage. I can't honestly tell you that it's even frayed. Our neighborhoods are no less desirable because a gay couple happens to live down the block. Our schools are no less safe because a student might have two mothers. I would be struggling to share with you any discernible impact that it's had on Massachusetts at all.

Now I repeat: I am opposed to gay marriage. The Lord, I believe, meant for men to marry women, and for women to marry men, and these couples were meant to bear children and form families that are the foundation of a strong, moral, and caring society.

But I can no longer stand before you and condemn the act of gay marriage, not after what I've seen in Massachusetts. I think our most important fights are elsewhere.

You are no doubt surprised. Some of you are surely disappointed. I would like to address that surprise. I will have to live with that disappointment.

I am blessed to be speaking to a vast number of hard working, God-fearing Christians who are watching tonight. You are an unrivaled force in America. You are a force for good. You are the backbone of a moral nation.

For that reason, politicians will come before you, and -- let's be honest here -- they will pander to your beliefs. They will tell you that which they think you want to hear.

I hope I don't have to do that. I hope you know, from the time I have spent in many of your towns, in your church halls, in your living rooms, that I have lived a religious life, that my values are your values, and that I will fight for them.

I hope I can win your support, but, as important, I seek your respect.

We need to strengthen the American family; on that simple fact, we will never disagree. We need to get our sons and daughters home from foreign wars as fast as we are safely able. We need to reduce crime in places where violence has become a way of life. We need to give spiritual and economic opportunity to those millions of people who currently lack it.

There are many threats to our way of life that manifest themselves every day. I no longer believe that gay marriage is among the worst of them.

I certainly don't support gay marriage, not now, not ever. But I can't condemn its outcome.

Our fight is a long and important one. We need to pick the battles that matter most.

Yeah, imagine. A politician who's honest. A politician who doesn't pander.

Brian McGrory is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at mcgrory@globe.com.