[annalex]

Since Protestants have typically voted more in favor of the Reps than Catholics, I would reject this idea.

I don't know which idea you are rejecting. My comment was strictly to the Kerry's statement during one of the debates, where he said that he would not impose his Catholic beliefs on anyone. This statement, idiotic as it is, must have a superficial appeal to the Protestants.

Please see my #25 where I tried to clarify this.

[Soul Seeker]

So a Protestant would form his judgement as a balance between his own pro-life conviction, and his distaste for universal proclamations.

THIS is an assumption on your part to explain the decline in Protestant support. I refered you to the fact up until this year Protestants outnumbered Catholics in support. If firm conviction on a point such as abortion was not tolerable, we would have seen evidence of this well before this election. This disproves your theory, unless you wish to broaden to state before this election catholics were not comfortable with firm convictions.

In point I reject the very premise protestants are uncomfortable with a rigid obesiance to scripture. What you have offered is your own opinion, which cannot be introduced as fact. From my part as a former Protestant, I am telling you the Liberalization of doctrine is the key reason why support declined. They are misleading their congregations that look to them for spirtual guidance OR chasing them to other non denonminational settings as was true in my case.