An email:

Your point about the GOP not nominating Catholics got me thinking about the one they nominated for Veep, then the Dems for Veep, etc. Not that this is causal or anything, but for all the talk about the barriers that JFK supposedly broke, it is interesting to note that only one Catholic has been nominated since, and both he and all four Catholic veep nominees (3 Dems, 1 Repub), all have lost: 1964: GOP nominates Bill Miller for Veep 1968: Dems nominate Ed Muskie for Veep 1972: Dems nominate Sarge Shriver for Veep 1984: Dems nominate Geraldine Ferraro for Veep 2004: Dems nominate John Kerry for President