Moral issue decisive for Bush re-election
Moral values topped the list of issues voters were most concerned about when they went to the polls on Election Day, with Catholics, evangelicals, blacks and Hispanics joining an ad hoc coalition that re-elected President Bush by 3.5 million votes.
Washington Times quotes a national exit poll of 13,531 voters that found 22 percent cited moral values as the "most important issue," with the economy and jobs second at 20 percent and terrorism at 19 percent, according to a joint survey by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International. Iraq came in fourth at 15 percent.
Moral issues were highlighted by ballot measures in 11 states to effectively prohibit same-sex "marriage." Voters approved all the measures by solid majorities, ranging from 57 percent in Oregon to 86 percent in Mississippi - and 62 percent in the key state of Ohio.
The overwhelming support that Americans gave to marriage and family issues and the candidates who supported them showed that this is the 'year of the values voter,'" said Gary Bauer, president of American Values and a former presidential candidate.
For months on the campaign trail, the president drew the most enthusiastic applause from supporters when he talked about moral values: the "culture of life," a phrase borrowed from Pope John Paul II; the sanctity of marriage; the importance of family; and especially his signing of the partial-birth-abortion ban.
The Christian Defense Coalition yesterday pointed to a strong evangelical and pro-life voter turnout as a key to the president's victory.
"This election demonstrates that Democratic Party leaders have moved far away from the moral consensus in America," said the Rev. Rob Schenck, president of the National Clergy Council. "If they are to reclaim political relevancy, they will need to re-examine their positions on all the major moral issues including the sanctity of human life, the sanctity of marriage and the public acknowledgment of God."
Conservatives credited moral issues with boosting Mr. Bush's tally among black and Hispanic voters. The president's share of the Hispanic vote increased from 31 percent in 2000 to 44 percent this year. The shift in the black vote was smaller - from 9 percent four years ago to 11 percent in 2004 - but may have proved decisive in Ohio, the state that ultimately tipped the election to Mr. Bush.
.png)
