Immediately following his narrow primary win, Specter was quick to declare his independence from the president and reassert his pro-abortion credentials.

After his Nov. 2 win, Specter added insult to injury, asserting that if he were to become chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, pro-life judges need not apply.

Originally believing that a strong GOP Senate candidate in Pennsylvania could put the state's 21 electoral votes in the Bush column, the president campaigned with Specter and helped him squeak out a win against Toomey. Conventional wisdom had suggested that Toomey would be a weaker candidate in the general election.

But saving Specter didn't impress Pennsylvania Republicans.

In fact, Bush's endorsement of Specter angered pro-life Republicans across the state, and now exit polls suggest that many of them did not show up to vote on Election Day.

While national polls indicate that moral values was the No. 1 priority for 22 percent of all voters, only 18 percent of Pennsylvania voters listed moral values as their top priority.

Since 80 percent of these "moral values" voters nationwide supported the President, their lower turnout in Pennsylvania probably gave Kerry his narrow margin of victory in the Keystone State.

Catholics voted for Bush nationwide 52 percent to 47 percent. The margin was wider in Ohio, 55 percent to 44 percent, and wider still in Florida, 57 percent to 42 percent. In Pennsylvania, however, Catholics were almost evenly split, going for Bush 51 percent to 49 percent.

If Bush allows Sen. Specter to chair the Senate Judiciary Committee, his support among "values voters" nationwide could suffer a similar decline.

Editor's note: