Appalachia
In the public restroom at Waterfront Park there is a smidgeon of graffiti which reads: “Silly Obama. It’s a White House, not a Black House.”
Curious item, that. Such things are inevitable, and it is a bit difficult to figure out how to ascertain the effect in the nomination or the election. I see some curious analysis from the — er– “politically correct” saying that complaints of “inexperience” skew toward the old standby of him being an “Affirmative Action pick”, when — really — he’s just not been in the Senate all that long.
Two competing effects came out of yesterday’s election. First, he lost a primary election in his most hostile Democratic primary in the nation by a whopper of a percentage, which was to be expected, and off of some firm race baiting (and really tedious pandering) on the part of the Clinton campaign. The win is, in Marvel Comics terminology, a “no prize” for Hillary Clinton and doesn’t much bring her anywhere. The sheer numbers probably matters only slightly to Obama’s electoral chances — this is the most potent concentration of a specific “Appalachian” demographic which is diffused in other swing states. (The border state of the “Solid South” where below it this vote has switched parties.) Obama is not going to win West Virginia, and the only things you can say signs here speak of some trouble in other states. While West Virginia is closing, other states are opening up.
Meanwhile, an anti-Obama and race themed campaign failed to keep a Republican House seat in Mississippi, which is a signifier to be sure. It may be that the thrashed Republican brand will just end up dragging down McCain down enough and that’s about where it is going to end up.