Alot of people are claiming racism, and only racism, to be the problem for Obama's lack of appeal in rural communities. To these people, I have the following question: would a charasmatic, *black* Republican presidential nominee who tows the conventional republican party line on social issues (pro-gun, anti-abortion, "religious" and "patriotic" in that conventional way) win over this voter block?

I'm not going to pretend to know the answer. Can people who have lived in rural America answer that? If yes, then the problem might partially be about message. If the answer is overwhelmingly no, then it must be race.

Another important question that needs to be answered is: can Obama win the electoral college votes while ignoring the conventional swing states like Ohio and Pennsylvania? It's probably a dispassionate question of strategy: does he have to spend alot of time and energy pandering to this voter block when he might be able to become president pandering to another voting block (that might have a higher return on campaign money spent)?

Interesting article nonetheless. Pity about the title.

Two questions:

1. I see references on "how" to talk to those in Appalacia. How is this talk different? How did Bill Clinton talk to those in Appalachia so effectively? What did he say that was so different?

2. Is Hillbilly really offensive? I grew up in Detroit with alot of people who migrated from those areas to work in the auto plants. They identified themselves routinely as "Hillbilly" as if it was an ethnic identity. Was it OK then but not now? Was it always offensive?

Davis raises the valid point that Democrats should be more attentive to the needs of the rural poor if they want to win the White House. But to imply that racism wasn't a factor in the outcome of the West Virginia primary is naive, and I question extending Obama's problems in that state to the general election.

West Virginia is unique demographically, because it is almost exclusively working class and white. In the Carolinas and in the rust belt, blue collar whites have black co-workers. In rural West Virgina, many whites are hard pressed to name a single black person who they know personally. Additionally, the population is old -- West Virginia is second only to Florida in its percentage of senior citizens. Because the entire voting block is old, white and insular, WV is almost a time capsule for 1960s and '70s era race perceptions.

I'm a 5th generation West Virginian, and like nearly everyone else my age, I moved out of state in order to have a job. For me, moving to Massachusetts when I was 17 was like moving to a new country and a new decade. Encountering people who were not white, heterosexual and Protestant rapidly forced me to abandon many prejudices that I had internalized growing up in a homogeneous rural community. But there is no way for me to convey that experience -- or my unreserved support for Obama -- to my grandmother. She has lived her entire life in a tiny white community, except for a brief stint in urban Ohio during the late 1950s. Her perceptions of race and race relations were formed on the cusp of the civil rights movement, and haven't been modified by interactions with non-whites since. She believes in racial equality, but she fears an angry black community that may be waiting for an opportunity to strike back at whites -- an opportunity potentially provided by the election of a black president.

On issues of race, my grandmother is probably one of the most open-minded people in her community. But her experience and her fears are a microcosm of the fundamental barrier to any black candidate's success in WV. If Obama becomes the nominee, the Democrats have more work to do in the state than just showing up and advocating social programs.

..."Every human being on this earth deserves respect and understanding period!"

-- rbrown207

Even THE TERRORISTS???? God forbid...

...you might be on to something.

Oh come on it is much simpler than all that, he is a nigger. Yes we still have racists in America. In fact, lots of them and they are not just in WV.

I myself prefer Obama to Clinton but I am an East Coast, intellectual, pro-peace, Quaker, Libertarian.

Thanks to all who live or have lived in the areas this article describes. It's really interesting to understand the perspectives.

Uneducated rural white voters in general began to move away from the Democratic party three decades ago in response to the liberation movements of blacks, women and gays. These groups along with white educated heterosexuals are now as fundamental a part of the Democratic party as the religious right is of the Republican party. Who gives the Democrats their money? Who does the foot work when elections roll around? It ain't uneducated whites. There's no going back to the 50's when our country was vastly more culturally homogenous and rural voters could concentrate solely on economic issues. These voters have proven again and again that cultural and social issues now trump economics and these voters wouldn't be appeased until the Democratic party told its real supporters - those who support the party on both economic and social issues - to get lost. They don't want to be a part of a party with so many people whom they regard, frankly, as less than themselves in their "Americanness". Time for Democrats to move on and concentrate on those voters we actually can win over. If we win in November we will be doing rural whites a huge favor though we oughtn't ever to expect any gratitude.

"Chauvinists" as in urban and suburban chauvinists, not male chauvinists, zombie warrior. Defined by "Wikipedia" as "extreme and unreasoning partisanship on behalf of a group to which one belongs, especially when the partisanship includes malice and hatred towards a rival group." Of course Clinton supporters are not above reproach. We are just not all beneath contempt.

As for WV, much was made of racism and Muslim rumors there, but I have yet to see an article that points out the state is represented by an Arab-American of Lebanese descent, Nick Rahall. Racism is not brought on by poverty, nor is it specific to one part of the map. You will find low-information voters, and in this election regarding Obama rumors, they hover around 9% state by state and nationally.

As someone from WV, they don't cling to "their" religion, guns and xenophobia so much as adhere to small town values. My high school reunion has been planned months in advance. The president of our graduating class / basketball captain will DJ. Tickets including dinner but not including portraits from a local studio ($10) will be $30. Dinner is chicken, rigatoni, salad, broccoli, etc. Beverages are Sprite, Diet Coke, Coke, tap water, etc. The warm-up mixer will be at The Ordinary on Main St. They support a candidate who shares their values and offers no surprises. Obama's problems with these voters is his newness, his weird friends and his tendency to waffle. Perhaps as more time goes by, he can win them over like Kennedy did. It is silly to think their votes don't matter, though.

Of the states in the Ohio River valley, WV, OH and PA are swing states. OH gets 20 EVs, PA gets 21 and WV 5, and the whole area votes identically for the most part.

1992

Clinton (370) - WV, PA, OH, TN, KY

Bush (168) - NC, VA

1996

Clinton (379) - WV, PA, OH, TN, KY

Dole (159) - NC, VA

2000

Bush (271) - WV, VA, OH, NC, TN, KY

Gore (266) - PA

2004

Bush (286) - WV, VA, OH, NC, TN, KY

Kerry (251) - PA