No worries. Just you wait. The only thing getting in the way of Obama's appeal to rural voters is an opposing campaign within the same party determined to discredit the eventual nominee as much as possible.

Wasn't that, like, their biggest claim to fame for years? Hell, Loretta Lynn didn't write "Coal Miner's Daughter" for nothing, did she?

So if Obama is pro-coal...shouldn't that help WV out a little? Because the Appalachia I know (from my extended family) ain't so earth-loving that they wouldn't mind more jobs, even if it meant digging up the entire western Appalachian mountain range. The logic on this issue by other posters escapes me, but hey, I don't live out there, so maybe they do and can enlighten me as to why being pro-coal is bad for WV...

Whatever...that's not the problem with Appalachia...the problem is that they don't like them thar colored folks too much. Hell, the Daily Show actually got a person on camera to say, basically, that they can't vote for someone with the middle name of Hussein because "Thats's just one to many Husseins" for them. WTF??? Do we need to appeal (or more appropriately, PANDER) to this type of voter any more? The old Dixiecrat party died out in the South years ago, but I guess some parts of the country still vote Democratic even if they really aren't.

The author's suggestion that Obama give the state a shot is a worthy suggestion...but because of Obama's race, I just don't think WV type folks are going to choose him (or Hillary, to be fair) over McCain, even if it's against their best interests...but then again, since when did people even consider the issues when they vote in the Great Popularity Contest that is the Presidential Election.

One thing's for sure...Hillary and Bill runnin' there mouths about her being the better candidate, while throwing Obama under the bus, really didn't help the current state of affairs in Appalachia. Democrats like me are going to remember this the next time Hillary tries to run for office, if Obama loses thanks to Hillary playing the Cracker-Card.

90% of blacks voted for Obama, many of who are uneducated, and live in inner cities. This is a symptom of biased bigotry resulting in voting for someone only because of their race. Sounds like the pot calling the kettle black (no pun intended).

Ms. Davis' article completely ignores the real reason people don't like Obama in Appalachia-because he's black. This not coming from someone unfamiliar with the area. I was raised in Beckley, West Virginia and have lived in the state since the age of five (I am now 39). Racism in this part of the country is pervasive. If you ask most people in West Virginia why they won't for Obama. It is simple. They don't want a black man as their president. Period. End of story. This idea is even held by people who are college educated and presumably should know better. So, any analysis of Appalachian voting patterns without discussing racism is simply to not talk about the elephant in the room.

For all your dodging and over-analysizing, the answer is right in front of your noses.

Here, let me help you out. There's plenty more where this came from:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-q4MDQ0cDI

Obama and his team need to heat up the BBQ and cornbread, ice down some sweet tea, and get to work.

They will not vote for him if he doesn't ask for it, and make his case to them. The Democratic party has got to reach out to these voters; they are ripe for picking.

Appalachia has been Republican traditionally since the Civl War (some of these areas didn't secede). But they're not getting much love from the Repubs. These are the people whose sons and daughters go to the military for lack of better choices--and they are not real happy with how that's turning out. When the economy gets flu, these people get pneumonia. They are ready for change.

In 2004, the Dems barely ran down here, hardly lifted a finger. You couldn't even get a yard sign. Al Gore took us for granted in 2000; that worked out badly for him. He didn't think he needed us either, but he did.

In 2006, Harold Ford Jr. ran surprising well in rural Tennessee and came very close to winning a Senate seat. We were disappointed that he didn't win--but thrilled that he won so many voters in "Republican turf." This, despite the fact that his uncle was awaiting trial for corruption in Memphis, and the Ford family has major bad political baggage in TN. He won a majority of female voters in almost every county.

Dems were convinced that the allegedly racist, rural voters would reject Ford--yet he went to all these little towns and won a lot of them over.

Obama could do even better, I think, especially if he would SHOW UP and make his case. Some of my rural, Bible-thumpin', NRA member, military relatives have already voted for him once in the primary here. Because, they say, we need a purge up there in Washington. There are plenty out in them hills who feel the same.

Salon is clearly part of the problem and not the solution. No opportunity can pass without some snide remark, ever ironic and full of sarcasm.

Obama supporters are sterotypical in thier narrow view of poor white people. Obama will lose to McCain due to that short sighted, rascist attitude. It just doesn't work, and it isn't very liberal of them. They sound like a bunch of crybabies. Obviously Obama drama seekers have no idea how limited the access to the news is in the Appalacia, hell, those folks cannot even get the government to build them decent roads out. Do your homework and quit blaming everyone for Obama's problems. This is politics. The media has stopped giving him a free ride. maybe we can hear more of him whining about his wife today.

Obama could spend the next six months in Appalachia, promise to burn coal until the skies permanently darken, and still lose a majority of the votes to the perception that he is not a true American because he's, you know, black.

Your article implies that the Republicans did a better job of appealing to rural voters in Appalachia. How much time did Bush spend there in 2004? Also, are you really going to imply that Obama is an elitist because he went to Columbia and Harvard, but Bush, who went to Yale and Harvard, is not?

Really?

Rural voters have some responsibility in all this, too. If they can't see that McCain is going to continue to screw them the way Republicans always do, then what more can Obama do to win them over, especially if they are going to get hung up over his race and false charges about his religion?