Gallup asked whether Americans would vote for candidates with particular characteristics. The first day of polling was the day of Mitt Romney’s speech.

Between now and the 2008 political conventions, there will be discussion about the qualifications of presidential candidates — their education, age, religion, race, and so on. If your party nominated a generally well-qualified person for president who happened to be [ITEM A-H READ IN ORDER], would you vote for that person? Catholic? 93 percent yes, 4 percent no. Black? 93 percent yes, 5 percent no. Jewish? 91 percent yes, 6 percent no. A woman? 86 percent yes, 12 percent no. Hispanic? 86 percent yes, 12 percent no. Mormon? 80 percent yes, 17 percent no. A homosexual? 56 percent yes,41 percent no. An atheist? 46 percent yes, 48 percent no.

I find these numbers largely reassuring.