Mark Levin is a Jewish conservative radio pundit. I don't listen to him. Never have. I will probably not start now. For one thing, his definition of Marxist leaves much to be desired. Marxist, in his book, seems to be "more liberal than I am," or "Democrat." I can assure Mark that the definition is much narrower than that.
If Mark Levin wants to know what an actual Marxist is, he should study Senator Bernie Sanders.
In any case, someone on Patheos thinks that Mark has identified a real good reason to convert to Mormonism. It seems that only 18% of Mormons in the U.S. approve of Obama's presidency. Mark's numbers, it is true, do raise interesting questions. For example, why do people in certain demographics like or dislike Obama and what do ideologue radio personalities such as Mark Levin try to do with this information?
According to Levin's numbers, Muslims love Obama's presidency. Over 70% approval rating there. Surely this can't be because of his religious conservatism. Perhaps Mark would have us believe that this is because Obama is a Muslim as well as a Marxist (both untrue). Maybe it is because American Muslims do not fear Obama is an Islamophobe. Another factor may be that a religion with millions of black African (and millions more non-white) adherents is accustomed to black (and other non-white) leaders.
And, while I think we can say that Mormonism has been slowly evolving into the modern world on the issue of race, having extended the priesthood to all worthy male members in 1978, it could be that North American Mormons are still unaccustomed to the idea of black leaders in the highest positions of power.
Why would that be, you ask?
So, I hope Mark Levin honestly follows through on his research into the question regarding the reason so many Mormons don't like Obama. I would bet that the reasons are actually quite complex. North American Mormons are, after all, predominantly Republican. So, hey, that is one important factor right there. It is also true that North American Mormons tend to dislike the expansion of federal authority. Another good reason to dislike the fellow who is responsible for the Affordable Care Act. North American Mormons also tend to engage in apocalyptic speculation, and religious conservatives in this country have certainly written Obama into such narratives. Still, I can't help thinking that a religion that has never had a black person in its top leadership may inculcate in its members a lack of familiarity or comfort with the fact of living under a black leader.
I am not arguing that Mormons are consciously racist. I am saying that unfamiliarity and discomfort often go together. Most Mormons in the U.S. don't like Obama; many of these Mormons are not more racist than the average person. A number of them did, however, grow up in a culture which promulgated racist ideas and excluded blacks from the lay-priesthood. It would be less than honest not to accept the possibility that this does indeed influence Mormon approval of Obama's presidency.