Poll shows religion can sway votes for president
WASHINGTON - One in 4 people in the United States said in a recent poll that they would be less likely to support a presidential candidate who is Mormon, an ominous sign for Republican contender Mitt Romney.
Yet the survey found two groups, atheists and Muslims, were even less likely to win votes.
Sixty-one percent of those questioned said they would be less likely to support a presidential candidate who did not believe in God. Forty-five percent said the same regarding a Muslim contender.
Only 5 percent or fewer said they would be more likely to support candidates who were atheists, Muslims, or Mormons, according to the poll by two nonpartisan research groups, the Pew Research Center and the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
The poll was conducted Aug. 1 to 18 and involved telephone interviews with 3,002 randomly chosen adults. The margin of sampling error was 2 percentage points.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Giuliani, 4-year-old connect
HOUSTON - Rudy Giuliani took his coffee black, with artificial sweetener. Charlie Pagan took his
But, for a few moments in a crowded and noisy restaurant yesterday, the Republican presidential candidate and the 4-year-old boy seemed to have a lot in common. They talked about baseball and the weather before ending their chat with a solid high-five.
Their tete-a-tete, captured by a crush of television cameras, photographers and reporters, was part of a 30-minute campaign stop by Giuliani, who visited the Buffalo Grille to shake hands, pose for pictures, sign autographs and rally his supporters.
He also restated his stand on immigration, reaffirmed the importance of capturing Osama bin Laden and recalled the lasting imprint of Sept. 11, 2001.
"There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about it three or four times a day," Giuliani said. "There are so many memories, so many friends that I lost and so many heroic brave things I observed. I've always described it as the worst day of my life, and the most inspirational day of my life."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
