This is not the "Red States" election map from the 2004 Kerry campaign - it is the "RED COUNTIES" election map from the 2008 Obama victory this past November 4th!
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/2008/
It is indeed true that the above election cartograph/map is NOT weighted for population or electoral votes... in fact, those weighted maps (and the far more familiar state results map, for the vast majority of "winner take all" states) are at the same web-site) but that RED, RED, RED COUNTIES MAP conveys an extremely important lesson for the Obama campaign and Democrats in the coming years: THOSE RURAL COUNTIES are DOMINATED by RIGHT-WING media, specifically TV and Radio, and especially RIGHT-WING HATE RADIO.
No matter the Obama victory landslide and popular vote margin: RIGHT-WING HATE-RADIO was able to IMPEACH a SITTING US PRESIDENT (Bill Clinton); ROB the sitting Vice President and popular-vote winner of the 2000 election of his electoral victory (Al Gore robbed by massive disenfranchisement in Florida); a sitting Democratic governor (Don Siegelman of Alabama) not only ROBBED of his election win, but then prosecuted and IMPRISONED for - putting a supporter on a government commission?? - THE POWER of the RIGHT-WING MEDIA to DRAG DOWN DEMOCRATS should NEVER BE UNDERESTIMATED, they have the SCALPS of a DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENT, a Democratic VICE-PRESIDENT, a DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR, and at least TWO Democratic Senators (Vietnam War combat Veteran Max Cleland in Georgia in 2002, and Vietnam veteran Tom Daschle in South Dakota in 2004) to their credit.
EVEN MORE AMAZING, the RURAL STATES are 9 times out of 10 (only one or two exceptions) NET federal TAX RECIPIENTS - BUT the message of "DEMOCRATS" in genearl, and "OBAMA IS A SOCIALIST!" in particular, are VERY POWERFUL THEMES being POUNDED by the Right-Wing media - DESPITE that NET TAX DOLLAR RECIPIENT status of the RURAL, "red" states!
Indeed - ALASKA, home to Gov. Sarah Palin, the MOST VOCIFEROUS DEMAGOGUE of the "Democrats are SOCIALISTS!" message this year - is THE MOST SOCIALIZED, SUBSIDIZED STATE IN AMERICA!
This amazing factoid - that the RIGHT-WING MEDIA is EXCELLENT at INVERTING REALITY, ACCUSING Democrats of "being Socialists" WHILE BENEFITING from SOCIALIZED REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH from urban to rural counties - WILL RESULT in the "DEATH OF 1,000 CUTS" to the incoming Obama administration, IF they take NO MEASURES to address that Right-Wing, rural media (radio & TV) juggernaut.
NO MATTER HOW WELL the Obama campaign ADDRESSES OTHER ISSUES - ENERGY, THE ECONOMY, the war-on-terror, health care, education, national infrastructure, etc. - the RIGHT-WING MEDIA in the "rural red states" is ALMOST UNOPPOSED and will ROB the credit for any Obama admin. successes, and AMPLIFY the BLAME for any shortcomings - The DEATH OF 1,000 CUTS, just ask Al Gore, Bill Clinton, Max Cleland, Don Siegelman, or dozens of other Democratic candidates and leaders.
