It is not likely Virginia, North Carolina or Florida will vote for President Obama. They did last time, only because even these Confederates had become fed up with the incompetence of George W. Bush and all who traveled with him.
Or at least that was my take.
If you really want to fantasize, or if you are into denial, you can think, well maybe, things in the South really have changed.
The Phantom has taken grief about his habit of relating everything in life to The Wire, but there is one scene which is just too perfect and relevant to not mention: McNulty and his partner, Kima, who is a Black/Asian woman, trail a case to a small town in southern Virginia, where they require the help of the town sheriff. McNulty tells Kima, to wait outside, while he goes in to deal with the sheriff. McNulty, knowing he is dealing with a small town, white, Southern male, attempts to establish rapport by complaining about how the Blacks have taken over Baltimore, when the sheriff's wife, who is Black, comes into the room, kisses him on the head and leaves McNulty trying to regroup. He has made assumptions about what a white male in the South would believe, but the South has changed. People have changed. The white sheriff draws Kima aside and says, "Your partner...a bit of an asshole." She says, "You think?"
So, if The Wire got it right, maybe there's been enough change in the South that enough white males will vote for Mr. Obama, despite the fact he looks Black.
We can always hope there has been a change.
This is not a North South thing. It, more likely, is a socioeconomic thing for males. The more interesting issue is how women vote (and there really should not be a debate for them).
ReplyDeleteIf this were true, there would be no red or blue states, assuming the genders are more or less 50/50 in every state.
ReplyDeleteThe real problem has been with white males, although, now that you mention it, it may be white males in the North just as much as in the South.
The Nascar males.
--The Phantom
As I said - it's socioeconomic. If you had ever been to a Nascar race, you would know.
ReplyDeleteNascar is alive and well in New Hampshire. I drive past the tracks every week. Cannot say I've ever attended. Cannot think of anything more ridiculous than paying to watch cars zoom past me. I see this every day on Route 95.
ReplyDelete--The Phantom