I thought the church wanted the attention and pride of such, although I must admit they do not appear to take pride in Harry Reid.
Of course the church likes good press. But this series of articles is an example of the kind of garbage that will surface in the course of Mitt candidacy -- trying to make the church look like some kind of dark, political conspiracy.
It's my guess the church will not take public "ownership" of any politician, in the sense of saying "Look at him. He's a Mormon. He represents us." People are too fallible, and any stumble will then reflect on the church.