Timbre of a TimeFree Mind

[Lou Chibbaro, Jr.]

Michael Winn, 62, a health care industry professional who lives in Deerfield, Beach, Fla., said he voted for George W. Bush for president this year after having voted for Al Gore four years ago. Winn is a gay man and a lifelong Democrat, although he admits he “strayed” from his party in the 1980s when he voted for Ronald Reagan.

“When 9-11 happened, I thought President Bush was so wonderful because he brought the country together,” he said. “He began the war on terrorism, which I strongly support.”

Winn makes clear that he disagrees with the president on some issues, such as a constitutional ban gay marriage and stem cell research. “But I feel the issue of national security is more important than the issue of gay marriage and the other issues I don’t agree with him on,” he said.

Winn is among those who put a face on the 23 percent of the gay electorate that a national exit poll claimed voted for Bush, breaking from the 77 percent of their gay brothers and sisters who reported voting for Democrat John Kerry.

The 23 percent of gay voters who backed the president translate into more than one million gay male, lesbian, or bisexual voters, according to the exit poll, a figure that stunned and baffled many gay activists. LINK