Clinton's God Vote, Obama's None/Others

Catholics comprised the single biggest self-identified religious demographic in the Democratic primaries on Tuesday — 28% — and they voted overwhelmingly for Hillary, 59% to 37%. Self-described Protestants, 21% — the same number of respondents who listed their religion as “none” or “other,” a category that could include Muslims — favored Hillary 48-46, while the None/Others went solidly for Obama. This raises an interesting possibility — Obama can’t connect with religious voters as well as Hillary, despite his heavy faith breathing. Why not? He beats Hillary with voters identified as “liberal” and “conservative.” It’s not ideology. It’s Godtalk. Does Hillary do it better? Or do those who respond to such speech from a candidate also favor establishment politics? What about gender? One other puzzling question about these less than revealing numbers: 19% of respondents id’d themselves as “Other Christian” — neither Catholic nor Protestant. Really? This must reflect the huge Greek Orthodox community in Texas, right? Or is it possible that 19% don’t know that their tradition is Protestant?