Fox News has just called Ohio for Barack Obama. That’s not a surprise. I live in Hocking County, an hour southeast of Columbus, in the midst of the state’s 22 Appalachian counties. This area is represented by a Democrat in Congress and went for Hillary Clinton in the Ohio primary. White, working-class Appalachians were seen as Hillarycrats or PUMAs, voters who would bolt the Democratic Party and Barack Obama to vote for John McCain today.
But in the weeks running up to today’s election, I had reason to believe that the so-called PUMA vote was the post-modern political version of the unicorn. While there is a good representation of McCain-Palin yard signs, I saw only one “Another Democrat for McCain” in the entire county and a large number of Obama signs. In my personal contacts in the community, usual GOP voters expressed support for McCain. But Obama people of all ages, including elderly whites and especially women, were enthusiastic for Obama. The economy and a weariness with the Bush years were their driving motivators, it seemed.
After Fox made its projection, PBS discussed Ohio exit polling showing that 81% of Clinton voters went for Obama today. In Pennsylvania, exit polls show that 82% of Clinton’s primary supporters went to Obama.
Whether these Hillarycrats would have gone so overwhelmingly for Obama today were it not for the financial crisis can’t be known, of course. But the mass revulsion against Obama on the part of Clinton partisans simply does not exist or isn’t a resilient enough sentiment for them to vote against their perceived economic self-interest.
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