JoB
kayleigh…
i wouldn’t trust the results of a poll until i saw the actual poll and evaluated the questions that were asked.
I can frame a poll to get any result i want.. and if i can.. i know they can.
and that still doesn’t answer the bigger question..
why did the story become racism and not that Obama did not campaign at all in those states?
Don’t you think his choice not to campaign there at all.. not to try to change minds… might have had an effect on the outcome?
Don’t you think that factor should have been part of the discussion?
It wasn’t.. so why not?
I tend to look at the results and then ask myself if those results could have been predicted. What would you do if you wanted to split the democratic vote and market McCain to them? You would concentrate on racism.. because if you can alienate that group.. they are likely to vote for a “moderate and lovable” McCain.
It is entirely possible that many people in West Virginia voted for Clinton primarily because she showed up, talked about their concerns and asked for their vote… and still had reservations about voting for a black man that were reflected in the polls.
As for education…I agree that education gives you the opportunity to think… and i still believe education is the first step out of poverty… but it needs to start much earlier than college. it’s high time we put some back in our primary schools… we once led the world in education.. but not any more…
however, even higher education is no guarantee of critical thought. if it was, we couldn’t have had 8 years of Bush. I know many highly educated people who not only voted for him.. but will continue to vote republican… go figure:)
Blaming those who lack college educations for their own economic misfortune and making the assumption that their lack of education means that they are incapable of holding an informed opinion that differs with your own is simply another Republican tactic to divide and conquer democrats.
I am not against education.. i continue to educate myself every day of my life and certainly encourage not only my children but my grandchildren to do so…
but i am against the pervasive notion that is pedaled by the media that if those people just helped themselves by getting better educated.. they too would be on the have side of the column…
Not less than 5 years ago.. computer programmers.. especially those with advanced educations and experience.. were among the largest group of unemployed in this state… in fact.. on the West coast. Most of them were college grads.. more than a high number had masters… They all did the right thing and got educated.. and worked 12 hour days mastering their craft.
much of the work they once did is now done in India and asia… where the current crop of PhD programmers is coming from.
some of the lucky ones got jobs supervising the integration of their work from the states…
those who are currently employed in their fields consider themselves lucky to have jobs.
And that is just one well educated industry… i have heard similar stories from engineers, lawyers and doctors…
Perpetuating the myth that individual effort is all that is required for success may be comforting to those who are currently making it… and we are lucky to be among them… but that myth alone does more to still real conversation about class than any other.