Romney gets a little 'Big Love'
 
By Christina Bellantoni
The Washington Times
 
Political junkies and HBO fans have been wondering if "Big Love" would ever include a Mitt Romney story line.

Finally that question was answered last night, and the Mormon presidential hopeful got a mention during the season finale of the popular HBO drama about a Mormon family engaged in polygamy.

You had to listen really close to catch the Romney line, it was that subtle.

At the beginning of a scene halfway through the episode, the show's polygamist patriarch Roman Grant, aka "The Prophet," is watching television. The TV screen isn't in the shot, but you can hear a female's voice weighing in on a recent Romney scandal.

"He saved the Olympics. Who cares if he lets his dog ride on the roof of his car," the woman says, referring to a Boston Globe profile detailing a family trip where the Romney dog, Seamus, traveled 12 hours in a pet carrier on the roof of the station wagon.

"People are just out to get him for any little thing," the pundit continues. She starts a new sentence with "Critics ..." but her voice is drowned out when the show's main character Bill Henrickson enters the room.

The pundit does not mention Romney by name, but it is obvious she is referring to the Republican, who managed the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City .

A Romney spokesman laughed when I told him about the "Big Love" episode, but said his boss probably isn't a regular viewer of the show and he doubts it would have much bearing on voters.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, has often joked about polygamy.

HBO wasn't prepared for calls from political reporters today, but the press shop assures me they will let me know soon whether season three might include a Romney plot line. A spokeswoman said she wasn't sure if the producers filmed the pundit's segment or if it was a clip from a real news show.

-- Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times

CLARIFYING UPDATE: We are getting some comments from readers worried we are stereotyping polygamists as Mormons. Sorry for any confusion -- I was trying to portray the fictional Henrickson family as they are represented on the show. HBO describes its main character Bill as a "modern polygamist." The Henricksons say they believe in the Mormon faith and follow many of its traditions, but the family ceased being active in the Mormon church when they began living "The Principle" of having plural marriages.
 
video1.washingtontimes.com
Originally published August 27, 2007
 
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