Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole, the all but certain Republican presidential nominee, sought to drive home the point in a letter to the president of the U.S. Catholic Conference, Bishop Anthony Pilla of Cleveland. Executive disdain Riding high in the opinion polls, President Clinton made it clear by the timing and manner of his veto that he isn't worried about November. In choosing to make a splash, the president was making a pitch for the women's vote. Recent Catholic voting patterns give the president no compelling reason to think the veto will hurt with all Catholics. Currently, Clinton is well ahead of Dole in opinion polls among Catholics as among most groups, though it is probably too soon to draw firm conclusions from that.
Polls similarly indicate that Catholic views on abortion are far from monolithic.
But the figure fell to 40 percent among those who attend Mass irregularly. For all Catholics, the figures were 56 percent opposed to legal abortion in all cases or most, and 43 percent in favor. Whatever Catholic voters do in November, there is no doubt it will have a major bearing on the election. Catholics comprise a key segment of the electorate in politically critical states like Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. How these tensions play out in the case of Catholic women in November could have a major impact on the election's outcome.