Thanks for your insightful post and the reminder of the disappointment with Bush-41. I have a few comments to make about it.
At this year's GOP Convention, abortion and the defense of marriage were spoken of in prime time -- by President Bush, himself, though the dangerious likes of Giuliani and other social moderates and liberals took up the bulk of prime time, Zell Miller aside.
If evangelicals were voting upon the priority of the issues (for the Right to Life and the defense of the basic building block of society which is marriage, for instance) they would have voted for Bush-41 each time and for Bush-43, the last and this time. Voting based upon pervasive and overriding issues is the best voting, whether one counts one or more of them.
I agree with the imperative of pastors to train Christians according to their political responsibilities, among them all. However, Christians need to let the LORD Himself train themselves to heed His Word, whatever pastors say.
I'm amazed at how many Christians don't bother to even read his Word, much less heeding to what the Lord is trying to tell them through it. They say that time, work, kids, and other things, are reasons not to read the Bible. Which is why as you pointed out in 2000, 40% of Christians voted for Gore. What's up with that?