If people in Appalachia had any idea at all about what it is going to take to make America successful in the 21st century, Appalachia wouldn't look like Appalachia. Of course, that wouldn't be a problem if we weren't stuck with this antiquated, anti-democratic Electoral College system which forces the rest of us to pander to the ignorant.

Bill Clinton. Ha! Just joking.

Ok, only partly joking.

Seriously, though, about any preacher will do. Rev. Wright, probably hurt Obama less back home than just about anywhere--we're all pretty used to being yelled at by overly indignant preachers.

There are so many underlying premises of this article that are problematic, where to begin?

- Democrats are not uniquely out of touch with rural Americans, and in fact, Republicans surely are far more out of touch with them despite their pandering (tax cuts for the wealthiest 1% anyone?)

- Rural voters are not all white, and in fact, it's probably safe to say that Obama's got the very sizeable black rural vote all tied up by now. This article seems to examine politics through the lens of white rural voters, which is fair, but it would be nice that lens was openly acknowledged.

- Of all the 2008 candidates from any party, Obama has campaigned in and visited the most places, period, in this race. He is a single individual and cannot visit every single place, rural or otherwise, but he has visited plenty of rural locales since beginning his campaign, and Obama is the only one to run a 50-state campaign all along. He has spoken directly to more voters than anyone in this campaign, period.

- Obama's preference for Oregon today over Kentucky is likely born of his very practical mathematical need to win big in Oregon today so he could get the nomination finally tied up. If I lived in Kentucky, I wouldn't take it personally.

- While I reject all the blather about rural and urban stereotypes, especially the more hateful blather, we must admit that stereotypes come from somewhere and there is often a distorted truth buried somewhere inside them. The point is to accurately identify and separate truth from myth, to learn from it, to examine the root causes, and to not judge others that are different from us. Urbanites are not all elitists, but there are some who are; rural residents are not all uneducated racists and xenophobes, but there are some who are. Why is it so hard to acknowledge this? And why is it so hard to treat all people with respect despite this?

- No single group of voters is better or more deserving of attention by our political class. No one. We are all Americans and all deserve equal rights in this democracy. I reject this artifical urban vs rural divide.

The article makes great statistical points but doesn't really get at the heart of the issue. Hillary Clinton's policies are virtually the same as Obama's. She has the same upper class, elite credentials, so... why the lopsided support for her over Obama? It is not just a rural issue, that only explains a part of the issue for this democrat, for Barack Obama, who actually shares similar class and family traits with the "hillbillies"

And I understand.

Keep the support for the right. They understand.

Maybe they see him as elitist and condescending -- just like this article. Or maybe they're smarter than the author thinks and they see through his phoniness.

I suspect they value experience and hard work, and find that Clinton understands their issues.

How many people in West Virginia and Kentucky admitted that race was a factor? Like 15%? You can likely double that when it comes to acrual feelings. These are states where the Clinton supporters overwhelmingly said they would not vote for Obama....is this a policy issue? Has Clinton visited these rural areas? Do Hillary and Obama differ philosophically on Iraq, Health Care, unions? Of course not. These insulated hicks fear blacks, are distrtustful of all those not like them. These people can easily be convinced that Obama is a Muslim double agent or that he hates America, because they have lived in a bubble of stupidity their whole life. They can cling to wedge superficial issues of the church and ignore their economic woes and feign outrage when someome looks at them with empathy. Like the black man accused in "To Kill a Mockingbird" who had the nerve to "feel sorry" for a white girl. The white trash people of these regions don't care about policies or genuine issues....they prefer to feed off their insecurities and xenophobia, and apologists will come out and defned them as the heart of America...in reality they're the trash and gutter of America, everything we should strive against and correct.

Seriously, why do we need to go after their base? "Appealing to their economic self-interest" will not work if other "values" trump economics, which they always do in modern elections.

The GOP isn't banging on my door because they hate my guts--over-educated, gay, unmarried woman with no intent of reproducing. Bought her own house. Likes men but won't marry one. Atheist, friends and family who are non-white show up in public with me and even worse break bread in my house. Nobody ever lectures them on "disrespecting" me. No, on the contrary, they speak in overly hushed tones about how we Democrats need to "RESPECT" that their BIGOTRY is rooted in RELIGION! I've had it. Their votes are equal to mine.

I don't have to respect the 15% of people who admittedly based their anti-Obama vote on race. They have a right to do so, and I'm happy for them that they admitted it. But don't explain away that 15%. They told us why they voted against Obama. I feel sorry for them that they are limited in their racial experiences but we're moving on.

...that liberals and non-rural-thinking folks are the ones who are supposed to do the changing; supposed to act as if the progressive history of this country never happened in order to make those who are driven by hate, ignorance, and refusal to change feel safe. Whatever happened to the idea of America as a country of progress and (mostly) improvement? Why are some people asking that everyone else who doesn't and will never fit into the rural idea of what's acceptable give up what they believe in and essentially go backwards--and do this for people who will never, ever trust them? If the people of this country can only deal with each other from a oneupmanship/total-surrender-or-nothing basis, maybe democracy has failed and the American game is over.