That 5 million of the faithful turned out in droves does not necessarily mean that all of them are voting with a Christian agenda in mind. Sure, there is a return to “moral values,” but exactly what values were those? The exit polls were wrong in using the very term in the first place. Sean Hackbarth writes:

What does he base this on? An exit poll where 22% of respondents said “moral values” were the number one concern on their minds. For Wills and the Left that means gay marriage. However, that term is very nebulous. Truthfulness and integrity are also moral issues and they were part of the messages of both campaigns. Kerry Edwards relentlessly accused President Bush of misleading the nation into war. The two Johns also pounded on the administration for favoring the rich over everyone else. The anti-Bush 527s used plenty of moral imagry. They didn’t think the President was wrong on Iraq and other issues. Rather, he was evil. The President in turn used his character as an advantage. Bush blasted Kerry on his flip-flops and vacillations. Bush questioned Kerry’s integrity. Did Bush’s faith and moral appearance play to his base? No question. Is that what decided the election? We don’t know yet. Michael Van Winkle concurs: “we don’t know what ‘values’means [to] those few respondents.”

I’m not one to explain my own posts when a commenter has derailed the thread the way you have, but here’s one point of my post and I’ll say it again:

The liberal media wants the rest of the world to know that Kerry was defeated because of record turnouts by ignorant, Middle America Bible-thumpers who came out in droves out of fear that the “queers” are going to get married and “offer their kids to NAMBLA.”

It may seem that I have downplayed the participation of the evangelics. What I am downplaying is the condescension of the media towards them. The big-tent application, steeped in game theory, still applies, and you’d be deluding yourself to think that all of those who brought Bush over the top to win with a resounding blow are all followers of your agenda.

I have written before that one’s vote is both private and irrational. I hate these exit poll vocal essay contests, for the very reasons that you have demonstrated.

The moderate republicans are basically the same people who voted for Bush in 2000–basically 51M votes. This year year approximately 2M MORE evangelical christians (who in total equalled 23% of his votes) and over 3M MORE Catholic voters turned out. So here’s a math quiz:

Q: What does 59,459,765 minus 5,000,000 equal?
A: President John Kerry

Oh, and the last time I heard of a Pro-Life Democrat was yesterday–Harry Reid, the next Senate Minority Leader. So what was your point again?

When was the last time who heard of a Pro-Life Democrat? Never, they’ve all been run out! But there are plenty of Pro-Choice Republicans. We are the TRUE big tent party and it’s going to stay that way.

I’m a Christian but I deeply resent all Republican voters being denigrated as religious fanatics. Being a Republican doesn’t mean that you’re a Christian, it just means that as Republicans we belive that you have the freedom to believe if you choose… something the Democrats only look down on and belittle.

The moderate Republicans owe the Christian Coalition and ENORMOUS debt of gratitude. The exit polls estimate that 4 million of our voters turned out last Tuesday that did not vote in 2000. Bush’s margin of victory? 3.5 Million.

We put Bush over the top. Get used to it. And give us our due.

If not, we will sit home on November 4, 2006. Yes that date is already in our calandars. Perhaps it should be in yours as well…

Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy; our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” That is the true genius of America, a faith, a faith in simple dreams, an insistence on small miracles; that we can tuck in our children at night and know that they are fed and clothed and safe from harm; that we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door; that we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe; that we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution; and that our votes will be counted — or at least, most of the time. This year, in this election, we are called to reaffirm our values and our commitments, to hold them against a hard reality and see how we are measuring up, to the legacy of our forbearers and the promise of future generations.

– Barack Obama, Keynote Speaker, DNC 2004