The Dallas Morning News reports on John McCain’s quiet campaign too woo Catholic voters, noting that that the task may be easier for the Arizona senator than mobilizing conservative evangelicals. For all the attention lavished on evangelicals’ role in George W. Bush’s reelection, Catholic support was also crucial to the effort, with Bush beating the Catholic John Kerry among Roman Catholic voters. If McCain winds up in the White House despite tepid evangelical support, then playing to the middle replaces Karl Rove’s play-to-the-base strategy as the way that Republicans win. And if that happens, Catholics–the nation’s most dependable swing voters–become the new electoral prize, just as evangelicals were after 2004. With the Democratic presidential candidates making unprecedented plays for Catholic support, that process appears to be well underway.

5