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Evangelicals on the march as pastor tells them: 'Vote your values'

This article from the Independent (UK) talks about the evangelical vote in the US.

This is an election about many things - about Iraq, the war against terror, the economy and health care. But in an America that has rarely been more polarised, between liberals and conservatives, between the two halves of the country now labelled "metro" and "retro", it is also about values, about faith, about God.

"There are some non-Christians who would rather not have Christians vote. But we believe America was founded on Judaeo-Christian values and we're trying to defend that," says Pastor Landis. For evangelicals, "values are a more important issue than the economy, they transcend things like taxes. Money comes and money goes. If you vote for reasons of money, then money should be God."

And in his final debate with John Kerry, Mr Bush made his pitch. "Religion is part of me, my faith plays a big part in my life," he declared. "I pray a lot. I pray for strength. I pray for wisdom. I pray for our troops in harm's way. I pray for my family."

The political message could not have been clearer: if you're a real Christian, then vote Bush. And every sign is the appeal is being heeded.