Interesting little vignette of Texas by a writer for The Scotsman. He went seeking Democrats in Texas, and what he found was, intruiging. The Texas psyche has always been a bit ... different. I spent some time there in Corpus Christi as Student Naval Aviator, and later in Dallas. I remember it was pretty conservative in parts of Dallas, but 20 or so years ago it seemed about 60-40 Democratic. How times have changed, or so it seems.

At a French-style café (in Texas) two women are having lunch, eating fruit salad and drinking cappuccinos, and I overheard one talking about her drama class trip to Rome.

She ticks all the boxes marked "Democrat". She is shocked at the very suggestion. "I’m a Roman Catholic," she explains, as if this spoke for itself. But Mr Kerry, I offer, is a practising Catholic. "Not if he doesn’t believe in the church’s fundamental teaching - the right to life," she said, meaning opposition to abortion.

Worse, it emerges, Mr Kerry has been excommunicated for his sins. This, as it turns out, is a widely held myth. Some priests have said he should be denied communion. But in Texas, it’s gone down as fact.

Here is a 19-year-old drama student staunchly and instinctively Republican. None of her peers, she says, are Democrats - which she attributes to the success of the education system.

I try again - to Starbucks, where Susan Martin, a 52-year-old Barista, was taking a break.

She was just as fired-up as the liberals in San Francisco, but from the opposite side of the debate. The Bush administration, she believes, is leading the US into the most noble chapter of its history - and is midway through a vital election.

"This is not a political election. It’s a spiritual election. It’s about the kind of freedom our ancestors fought for and spilled their blood for," she says.

She adds: "[If Mr Kerry is elected] we will be loosening our grip on freedom. If we stop fighting for the oppressed overseas, we’ll stop doing it here as well. That’s why President Bush has got to win."