How Bush tapped into a well of faith

Every 10 years the US Census Bureau has a bit of harmless fun and calculates the demographic centre of America's shifting population. It is an imaginary spot on the map where America would balance perfectly if placed on a pivot. The spot is moving south and west by several miles a year: straight into the Republican heartland.

With the re-election of President George W. Bush the political map of America has now finally caught up with its population map. The last census in 2000 put America's centre in Phelps County, Missouri. Last week Phelps County voted for Bush by a margin of 63 per cent to 36 per cent for Kerry. Missouri itself is a sea of red around isolated patches of blue in its two big cities of St Louis and Kansas City. And the trend line of the spot spells even more future gloom for Democrats. By now, four years after the last census, it has probably already left Phelps County. It is moving straight for redder than red Kansas.