Wednesday, November 8, 2000

November 8, 2000 1135am CST Hmm... What an interesting situation. It is the day after the closest national election in a generation, and we do not know who will be the next president of the United States. In fact, we may not know for another 10 days, when the overseas absentee ballots from Florida are finally tallied. I have a feeling that Bush will end up the victor, but that is not at all clear. No candidate is going to end up with a majority of the popular vote, though it looks like Gore has a plurality. The most interesting thing about this election to me is the difference between urban and rural voters. Urbanites overwhelmingly supported Gore, and ruralites supported Bush. I have heard commentators attributing this to social conservatism among rural dwellers; the negative effects of Clinton's indiscretions outweigh the positive effects of a good economy. However, I think the issue is not fully explained by social conservatism. I do not believe that the economic growth our nation has experienced under the Clinton administration has affected rural America that much. Living in Kansas, I have seen a number of small towns that are all but dead. Young people move to the more densely populated areas while the average small town resident gets older and older. No matter how well the stock market is doing, rural areas suffer. For rural voters, the economic status quo is not all that great. It is no surprise that ruralites are voting for change. 11:36:48 AM    comment []