MIKE and Sandy Blakeslee had travelled across America from the state of Washington, to attend the Values Voters conference over the weekend.

They were in Washington, DC, like 3000 others, to hear the Republican candidates present their wares on the issues that really matter to this important voting bloc: abortion, the family (defined in the traditional way) and the right to religious freedom.

Democratic candidates were invited but all declined. All are pro-choice, which means they stood little chance of wooing this audience, which in 2004 is credited with having given President George Bush a second term.

The Blakeslees are active church members and the issues of the conference are important to them — and how they will vote next year in the primary.

Sponsored by the Focus on the Family and several other right-wing religious organisations, the Values Voters conference represented the biggest gathering of religiously motivated voters so far in this presidential election.