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Our Opinion: Deluded

“Analysis” of elections sometimes must seem laughable to political pros. Take one conclusion some in the media are drawing from the Dec. 12 election in Alabama.

In that contest, Democrat Doug Jones prevailed narrowly over Republican Roy Moore. Jones supports “abortion rights” laws. Moore is an outspoken critic of abortion.

So, some observers are insisting, abortion is becoming less of a hot-button issue in politics.

If the very conservative voters of Alabama didn’t worry about it, many other Americans won’t, either, they conclude.

Talk about “fake news.”

Controversy over some public policy may come and go. The electorate’s priorities may change.

Abortion is not one of those on-again, off-again issues, however.

Rest assured that many Alabama voters struggled with the Moore-Jones race, precisely because the Democrat winner adds another vote to forces favoring liberal abortion laws.

But it is clear most of those who could have voted for Moore but did not decided they could not support him because of allegations of sexual harassment and assault of teenage girls many years ago.

It was their strong sense of morality — not flagging allegiance to it — that prompted them to allow Jones to win.

Politicians who think abortion no longer is an issue are, quite simply, deluded.

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