Michael Barone has a data point I’ve been wanting to see for a long while now: The 1960 Catholic vote.

Barone notes that in ’60, 78 percent of Catholics voted for Kennedy. He uses that as a comparison point for the 2008 black vote for Obama, in order to explain why overwhelming support from a one particular demographic group for a candidate of their own isn’t worrisome. But I’m not sure I’m persuaded.

Because what that means is that 1960, in a race which is partially defined by Kennedy’s Catholicism, nearly 1-in-4 Catholics voted against him. In 2008, Obama took home 96 percent of the black vote. Which means that only 1-in-25 blacks voted against him. To my mind, anyway, that seems like a difference in kind.

I’ll be very interested to see what proportion of the Mormon vote Mitt Romney captures in November. (And I hope there will be some relevant exit poll data on it.) Will Mormons vote as a group more like Catholics did in 1960, or more like blacks did in 2008?

Here’s David Blankenhorn evolving to support of gay marriage. He mostly makes the standard equality argument–which is pretty powerful. Then he kind of goes off the rails:

A third good thing is respect for an emerging consensus. The population as a whole remains deeply divided, but most of our national elites, as well as most younger Americans, favor gay marriage. This emerging consensus may be wrong on the merits. But surely it matters.

Yikes.

Galley Friend R.S. sends along this fascinating explanation as to why Apple Stores display MacBooks with their screens open to a 70 degree angle:

You might think that Apple positions all its notebook computers for aesthetic reasons. That’s partly true. The tables are uncluttered and the products are clean. But the main reason notebook computers screens are slightly angled is to encourage customers to adjust the screen to their ideal viewing angle—in other words, to touch the computer! It’s also why all computers and iPads in the Apple Store are loaded with apps and software and connected to the Internet. Apple wants you to see the display for yourself and to experiment with apps and web sites to experience the power and performance of the devices.

I wonder what other ideas are hidden in the Apple retail plan.

In other news, I’m on Twitter now.

(1) Romney campaign asks Florida Gov. Rick Scott to downplay his state’s employment gains.

Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign asked Florida Governor Rick Scott to tone down his statements heralding improvements in the state’s economy because they clash with the presumptive Republican nominee’s message that the nation is suffering under President Barack Obama, according to two people familiar with the matter.

(2) Romney campaign cuts press call short because reporters ask questions about immigration.

Asked again about immigration, Chen contended that “the one thing we ought to focus on with immigration” was “how the economy has failed the Latino community.”

After reporters did not oblige, the Romney campaign cut off the call.

”We don’t have any more questions on today’s topic,” a Romney aide said.

(3) TNR’s Alec MacGillis asks, How is our guy even in this thing?

[H]ow is that Obama is not in truly serious trouble? All the talk recently has been of Obama’s prospects slipping, with him now only a couple points ahead of Romney, at best, in most polls. But he should be slipping! The economy, after showing signs of a solid recovery just a few months ago, is gasping for air again, and there may be worse on the way. This should be disastrous for the incumbent.

The Euro won’t be saved until it blows up.

It’s theoretically possible that George Will isn’t the first person to do an essay linking Brian and James Q. Wilson. But I’d be surprised.

The Pig sends along this NYT piece on Ivan Lendl’s new gig as Andy Murray’s coach. Filled with goodness.

It reminds me of my favorite moment in David Owen’s 2006 New Yorker profile of Lendl:

Lendl has a classic jock’s sense of humor, strongly shifted toward the practical-joke-and-trash-talk end of the comedy spectrum. He once went bike riding near his home in Connecticut with a good friend, a golf pro, and one hill was so steep that the pro had to get off his bike and walk. A week or so later, Lendl had Warren Bosworth call the pro, pretending to be a reporter from a golf publication. Bosworth said that he was working on an article about physical conditioning, and then asked questions about things like diet and stretching and exercise. Eventually, the discussion came around to bicycling, and Bosworth said, “Tell me. When you come to a steep hill, do you ride your bike or push it?” There was a long silence. Then the pro said, “Tell Ivan to go fuck himself.”

The Spring 2012 issue of The New Atlantis arrived today and if you’re not subscribing, you’re cheating yourself. In addition to everything else, it’s got a monster piece by Galley Friend Adam White on the history of infrastructure debates, dating from the Founding. How good is it? This good.