Presidential mandates.

• Author: Gamble, Darwin
• Position: Letters to the Editor - Letter to the Editor

Kate Clinton may have shocked some readers when she reported that 23 percent of gays and lesbians voted for Bush in 2004 ("Girly Mandate," January issue). That's just slightly less than the 25 percent of gays and lesbians who voted for Bush in 2000. The 2004 exit polls also show that 13 percent of self-professed liberals voted for Bush, while 15 percent of self-professed conservatives voted for Kerry. What's going on here?

We know from fifty years of social science research that parties and candidates can persuade people to vote against their apparent...