South's Waning Hold On National Politics

VERNON, Ala. -- Fear of the politician with the unusual name and look did not end with last Tuesday's vote in this rural red swatch where buck heads and rifles hang on the wall. This corner of the Deep South still resonates with negative feelings about the race of President-elect Barack Obama.

What may have ended on Election Day, though, is the centrality of the South to national politics. By voting so emphatically for Senator John McCain over Mr. Obama -- supporting him in some areas in even greater numbers than they did President Bush -- voters from Texas to South Carolina and Kentucky may have marginalized their region for some time to come, political experts say.

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Comments

[woozley]

"'Race continues to play a major role in the state,' said Glenn Feldman, a historian at the University of Alabama, Birmingham."

"'[T]here"s a clear indication that racial conservatism was a component of that shift away from the Democrat,' said Jay Barth, a political scientist in the state."

"Racial conservatism"? Enough with the mealy-mouthed, diplomatic soft-pedaling of the ugly truth: these southern states are hotbeds of unrepentant bigotry. One of the side benefits of the election has been to throw a glaring spotlight on those parts of the U.S. that are the most culturally backwards, thereby (hopefully) depriving them of any undue political influence in the future. "Real America" my ass.

[ThirdSection]

The best we can hope for is that Obama's programs work to uplift the folks of Vernon, Ala.