Sifter

The political factoid du jour immediately following the Nov. 2 election was that, according to exit pollsters, more voters identified “moral values” as their top election issue than any other. Media pundits, determined to find a one-size-fits-all reason for President Bush’s victory, began declaiming that it was because of his ability to mobilize his evangelical base. The reality, in fact, it far more complex than that. Here are some statistics and facts culled from various sources.

Percentage of voters identifying themselves as evangelical Christians: 23

Percentage of Republican voters who approve of civil unions for gay couples: 35

Percentage of Republican voters who approve of marriage for gay couples: 27

Number of 10 states with lowest divorce rates that are “blue” states: 9

Number of 10 states with highest divorce rates that are “red” states: 9

State with the lowest divorce rate: Massachusetts

Number of the five states with the highest murder rates that are in the South: 5

Number of loofahs a sexual-harassment lawsuit accused Fox TV political commentator Bill O’Reilly of using in a fetishistic manner: 1

Amount the FCC fined Fox TV for an indecent broadcast of Married by America: $1.2 million

Man who owns both Fox TV and the company that published How to Make Love Like a Porn Star and How to Have a XXX Sex Life: Rupert Murdoch

Number by which gay Republican voters exceed Jewish Republican voters: 200,000

Primary reason why Democratic Senator-elect Barack Osama won: His Republican opponent dropped out of the race after it was discovered he’d frequented sex clubs.

Chances that a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage can achieve the approval of two-thirds of the states: zero