A new survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press shows how 9/11 helped redraw the political landscape in the U.S., reports the Washington Post.

An excerpt:

The survey underscored how important the issues of terrorism and national security and Bush's personal appeal were in helping the GOP put together a winning coalition of voters in 2004. The findings suggest that Bush's reelection depended not just on motivating the Republican base but also on his success in attracting swing voters and even some Democrats.

Both parties enjoy strong support among their core voters, but the Pew study concluded that Republicans have done a more effective job in attracting support among voters with less allegiance to either party. Bush's campaign attracted support in the middle from well-educated, upbeat voters as well as those who are more down-scale and pessimistic about their own situation.

"In effect, Republicans have succeeded in attracting two types of swing voters who could not be more different," the study reports. "The common threads are a highly favorable opinion of President Bush personally and support for an aggressive military stance against potential enemies of the U.S."

Foreign policy issues now provide the clearest distinction between Republican- and Democratic-leaning voters, with Republicans favoring assertive policies and military action and Democrats calling for diplomacy and multilateral strategies. Before the Sept. 11 attacks, foreign policy differences played a minimal role in distinguishing the party coalitions.

One other important difference defines the Democratic- and Republican-leaning voters. Those who tilt to the GOP are more personally optimistic and believe in the power of the individual, regardless of income, while those inclined toward the Democrats are more negative or even fatalistic in their attitudes about the future.

The study concluded that while the landscape tilts toward the Republicans, the GOP has not yet posted significant gains in party identification. Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Center, also said internal fissures could cause the Republicans problems in the future. GOP-leaning voters split over such issues as whether the government should do more to help the needy, over whether power is too concentrated in the hands of a few corporations, over whether government regulation of business protects the public interest, and over the environment and immigration.

But Democrats are also divided, particularly on cultural  issues such as homosexuality and whether the government should be involved in moral issues. Like Republicans, they are split over immigration.

Here's a link to the full survey.