Wooing worshippers

When it comes to faithfulness to the home church, neither candidate is a party man—but Kerry must grab religious voters to win | Bob Jones

If the latest poll is right, John Kerry may not have a prayer.

In a Sept. 27 survey of 969 registered voters, 60 percent of respondents said George W. Bush is a man of strong religious faith, compared to just 18 percent for John Kerry. Should that be troubling to the Democratic nominee? The same Washington Post/ABC News poll found that 7 percent of voters named "strong religious faith" as the single most important character trait for a candidate—more important than qualities such as "honest and trustworthy" or "strong leadership."

Democrats are scrambling to appeal to that 7 percent, plus the many more who consider religious faith one important trait among others. In his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, Sen. Kerry insisted his party welcomed "people of faith" and added, "I don't wear my own faith on my sleeve. But faith has given me values and hope to live by, from Vietnam to this day."