he associate editor of The Times is taking readers' questions through the Nov. 2 election.

Oct. 30

Q. In his inaugural address on January 20, 1953, Eisenhower said, "A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both." Peter Ustinov said, "Beliefs are what divide people, doubt unites them." Do you believe voters' beliefs, relative to their privileges, will rank higher than their principles, relative to the casting of their vote, in this 2004 national election?
- Edward D. Pugh, Pittsburgh

A. People usually vote in accord with what they consider their self-interest, although they are often wrong. In general, I think Americans take their privileges too much for granted.

Oct. 29

Q. Is a Kerry win a good thing for a possible McCain presidential run in '08 or would a Bush win help McCain's chances?
- Tom Ley, Green Bay, Wis.

A. Either way, it seems to me, McCain will be in a strong position, because he neither abandoned Bush in a fit of self-righteousness nor abandoned his own principles. Whether he wishes to run, at his late age, and expose himself to right-wing condemnation, is another matter.

Q. Whether Bush loses on Tuesday or serves out a second term, who are the Republicans grooming as his successor and by Republicans do we mean a party run by neocons, Southern Baptists or Sun Belt postmodernists? And if the former, haven't the neocons spent their credibility over trying to recreate the middle east in such a naive and hapless way?
- Paul Turner, Hong Kong

A. Parties don't groom successors when they have incumbent presidents; that's a journalist's fantasy. If Bush loses, the neocons will be blamed and the centrists will be strengthened; if he wins, the opposite will be true. But in any event, there will be an ideological struggle that he can influence but not decide.

Oct. 28

Q. What is your take on Rove's influence on the president and, more specifically, on the campaign?
- Chris Rodriguez, Sacramento

A. I claim no special inside info about Karl Rove. But he has played a major role in all of GWB's campaigns, and I see no reason to doubt that he's doing so this time. He is a merciless infighter, and I trace many of the president's sharper-elbow moments to him. But Bush is no puppet.

Q. How badly is the issue of gay marriage hurting the Democrats in the presidential and Congressional races?
- Martin Murray, Washington, D.C.

A. I think the largest impact is indirect but important, helping to energize evangelicals to vote and vote Republican.

Oct. 27

Q. With teams of lawyers standing by in battleground states, is it possible that results in multiple states will be held up for an extended period after Nov. 2?

What does the Constitution say about the inability of the electoral college to name a president by the day we are supposed to inaugurate a new President in January? Who or what body politic or judicial entity can step into this process and force a decision in such circumstances, if any?
- Richard May, West Chester, Penn.

A. This question takes me into a hazy area well behind my (alleged) expertise. But as I understand it, if the electoral college is unable to decide the outcome for any reason (lawsuits, third-party electors making an electoral college majority unattainable) by the Constitutionally prescribed date, Jan. 6, the question passes to the House of Representatives, where each state has one vote, decided by polling the delegation. This year, Bush would win handily, since the Republicans control a large majority of the state delegations. Of course, the courts - federal or state or both - could step in to force an early resolution of the lawsuits.

Q. If an 18-year-old, about to vote for the first time, asked you how he could believe in the voting process after the last election and the forecasts of potential disasters in this election, what would you say?
- Michael Dolan, Austin, Tex.

A. I would say this: Mishaps and even disasters are possible in many aspects of life, but we don't avoid plane flights because some crash or avoid surgery because some operations fail. Likewise, a thinking man would not shirk fulfilling his civic responsibility (and acting in his own self-interest) by voting, simply because something might go awry in the tabulation of the votes. And remember, things have gone smoothly far more times than not.

Oct. 26

Q. If you were forced to go to war, who would you rather have in a foxhole with you - Kerry or Bush - and why?
- Derek Johnson, Seattle

A. Easy. Kerry, because when he was a young man, he chose to go to Vietnam (my first war), even though he probably could have pulled strings, like Bush, to escape. In combat I have always liked to be with people who weren't wishing they were someplace else.

Q. People often make a big deal out of Al Gore's popular victory in 2000 but if every vote, across all the states, counted then presumably voter behavior in previously unfought states would alter significantly. If the electoral college was abolished and a national popular vote was introduced in its place, would either end of the political spectrum be significantly boosted?
- Patrick Michael Stewart, London

A. Not so far as I can see - maybe in one year, but not consistently. In 2000, GWB won in the electoral college and lost in the popular vote; this time, it could well be the opposite.

Q. How and when are each candidate's electors selected from each state? I was recently involved in a discussion as to how much influence the national parties, state-level parties, and state legislatures had upon the process, and was hoping you could clarify. Do chosen electors have free will to vote for any candidate once they are selected, or are they legally bound to cast a vote for the candidate they are expected to vote for?
- Caroline, London

A. The electors are selected, rather early in the year, or at least after the nominating conventions, by the political powers that be. The electors have no legal obligation to vote for the candidate of their party, but the moral suasion is considerable, and I can remember only one time in the last 40 years when an elector has not done so. Free will doesn't really enter into it.

Oct. 23

Q. When it's all over, do you think the country will remain as bitterly divided as it seems to be today?
- Jean Corigliano, Albany, N.Y.

A. Considering the bitterness of the 2000 campaign, which had not really healed by the time this one started, the tone of this year's race and the 50/50 partisan split which we seem stuck with, I see little prospect (though a great need) for unification. But of course great leaders can accomplish great things, and if one comes along, perhaps I'll be proven wrong. The main thing needed is a realization on the part of the public that we can't all have all we want.

Q. What do you think accounts for the greater emphasis by voters in this country on presidential candidates' religiosity/affirmation of God vis a vis voters' attitudes in Europe?
- Howard Furmansky, Bridgeport, Conn.

A. Europeans learned centuries ago how divisive religion can be, having fought wars over it, and for the most part they have kept it out of their politics more recently. The Christian Democrats in Germany are no more Christian than the Social Democrats, for example. Of course, Europeans are in general less religious (at least as measured by church attendance) than Americans are. Whether Catholic or Protestant, they tend to stay home or do something else on Sunday, and there are no evangelical movements in most countries comparable to ours. However, Northern Ireland is split along religious lines, and so are parts of the former Yugoslavia.

Oct. 22

Q. Without making an outright prediction on the presidential election's outcome, which I know is taboo, I wonder if you can offer your thoughts on a scenario I have heard raised several times in recent weeks privately, not publicly.

Given your experience in covering political races, I wonder if such an outcome is possible or likely given the apparent closeness of the head-to-head polls showing a dead heat at this point.
- Mark Davidson, Washington D.C.

A. I don't believe a word of it. If there are states where Bush won big that are now close, there are also states where Gore won big (Michigan, Wisconsin) that are now close. I could well be wrong - I've been wrong before - but out here on the road, too many swing states are close to have it be a landslide. It's not only national polls that are tight, but also the important state polls, in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida.

Q. Using the Presidential Calculator feature in the Campaign 2004 section of the Times online coverage, I was able to produce a scenario in which a tie occurs in the Electoral College using only the most recent swing states. If the following states should go to Kerry and the remaining states go to George Bush, both would receive 269 Electoral College Votes unless some of the swing states can break up their votes: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, Washington D.C., Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii.

A. You had better recheck your civics-class notes. In the case of an electoral-vote tie, the issue will be resolved in the House of Representatives, with each state delegation, regardless of size, casting one vote. The last time I looked, the Republicans controlled a majority of the delegations - but it's possible that they won't do so after Nov. 2.

Oct. 21

Q. What do we know about the education levels of likely Republican and Democratic voters?
- David England, Kent, Ohio

A. Not much at the moment, but these data will be available when we have the exit polls in hand. Watch for the detailed tables in The Times on the Thursday after the election.

Q. Why has the investigation into the release of the undercover C.I.A. agent's name not been a part of the election debates when it speaks to fundamental journalists' rights?
- Gillian Scouler, New York

A. I don't think either the candidates or the public are very interested in this episode. I am, but then I'm a journalist.

Oct. 20

Q. Why hasn't the price of gasoline become more of a campaign issue? Isn't this a quintessential pocketbook issue?
- Philip Jacobs, San Diego, Calif.

A. This is only a guess, but I'd say that most people, after considerable experience with the issue, don't think gasoline prices are within a president's control. To the degree they do, they factor them into their general views of the economy. Where that counts most - e.g., Michigan, Ohio - it is already a dominant issue, and it is hurting the president's re-election chances.

Q. What makes the East Coast conservatives - cocktails at 5 p.m., tennis at the club, CEO, trustfund crowd - comfortable with the Evangelicals now running their party?
- Brian Allard, St. Helena, Calif.

A. I don't think they are particularly comfortable. Those who are supporting the administration are doing so while holding their noses. Others (watch the returns from Westchester, Greenwich and the Main Line) are voting Democratic. (PS -- They may drink cocktails at 5 p.m. in the Napa Valley, but they don't in and around N.Y. More like 6:30 or 7.)

Oct. 19

Q. Should the responsibility for conducting a fair and balanced series of presidential debates be restored to the League of Women Voters after the biased, pro-Bush moderating by Bob Schieffer in the third debate?
- Pamela, Washington D.C.

A. Bias is sometimes in the eye of the beholder. I have known Bob Schieffer for 30 years, and he is as straight as they come. If the League took back the debates, who would moderate? Helen Hokinson?