The Week

Keep talkin’, Teresa. Keep talkin’.

They were an interesting group, those delegates in Boston. Though a CBS/New York Times survey found them to be miles to the left of typical Democratic voters, a majority of them consider themselves moderates. In contrast to their nominee’s “nuanced” positions, nine out of ten delegates oppose the war in Iraq, and a large majority favors eliminating most of the Bush tax cuts. While 43 percent of Democratic voters would permit abortions only in cases of rape, incest, or the life of the mother, only 12 percent of delegates agree with them, with 64 percent supporting abortion on demand. A third of Democratic voters and 5 percent of delegates oppose any legal recognition of gay unions. Forty-four percent of delegates think gays should be allowed to marry and 43 percent favor civil unions. Although the Boston delegates lack the awareness that they represent only the most left-wing of Democratic voters, they are not lacking much else. About 40 percent of the delegates have postgraduate degrees, incomes over $100,000 a year, and a net worth over $500,000. Which of John Edwards’s Americas do they belong to, again?

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Presidential Election

Keep talkin’, Teresa. Keep talkin’.

They were an interesting group, those delegates in Boston. Though a CBS/New York Times survey found them to be miles to the left of typical Democratic voters, a majority of them consider themselves moderates. In contrast to their nominee’s “nuanced” positions, nine out of ten delegates oppose the war in Iraq, and a large majority favors eliminating most of the Bush tax cuts. While 43 percent of Democratic voters would permit abortions only in cases of rape, incest, or the life of the mother, only 12 percent of delegates agree with them, with 64 percent supporting abortion on demand. A third of Democratic voters and 5 percent of delegates oppose any legal recognition of gay unions. Forty-four percent of delegates think gays should be allowed to marry and 43 percent favor civil unions. Although the Boston delegates lack the awareness that they represent only the most left-wing of Democratic voters, they are not lacking much else. About 40 percent of the delegates have postgraduate degrees, incomes over $100,000 a year, and a net worth over $500,000. Which of John Edwards’s Americas do they belong to, again?