Want to depress yourself further? Look at Southern precinct results!

[Husker]

I think it is a bit unfair to label all of the South as racist. Is there racism down there, perhaps more than the rest of the U.S.? Most likely. However, that does not mean that all southerners are that way nor does it mean that the rest of the U.S. is immune from racism. It exists everywhere and I hope the election of Obama does not end the race relations discussion, as we still have work to do.

Would another democrat have performed better than Obama in the southern states? Perhaps yes and perhaps no. Another democrat would have probably performed better than Obama in white, rural southern areas but I don't think the difference would have been substantial. I think religion and conservatism played a much stronger role in defeating Obama in the South than did race. If Obama was a conservative Christian, there is a good chance he would have been loved in the South. The fact that he is semi-liberal and accused of being Muslim is probably a much bigger reason why he lost. Obama's loss there represents a trend away from the democratic party that has being going on for years, particularly since 1976.

Matter of fact, here is a state by state decline (gain) in democratic margin from 1976 to 2008. It isn't just the South that has seen the decline either. 

State   Change Dem Margin
Alabama   -34.74%
Alaska   -0.45%
Arizona   7.84%
Arkansas   -49.56%
California   25.34%
Colorado   20.12%
Connecticut   27.76%
D. C.   20.83%
Delaware   19.58%
Florida   -2.49%
Georgia   -39.00%
Hawaii   42.74%
Idaho   -2.72%
Illinois   26.88%
Indiana   8.59%
Iowa          10.27%
Kansas   -7.84%
Kentucky   -23.41%
Louisiana   -24.41%
Maine   18.37%
Maryland   19.07%
Massachusetts   10.03%
Michigan   21.85%
Minnesota   -2.64%
Mississippi   -15.62%
Missouri   -3.80%
Montana   4.94%
Nebraska   5.65%
Nevada   16.78%
New Hampshire   20.89%
New Jersey   16.58%
New Mexico   17.33%
New York   21.03%
North Carolina   -10.73%
North Dakota   -2.82%
Ohio   3.52%
Oklahoma   -30.09%
Oregon   16.45%
Pennsylvania   7.58%
Rhode Island   16.64%
South Carolina   -22.01%
South Dakota   -6.93%
Tennessee   -28.17%
Texas   -14.93%
Utah   0.07%
Vermont   48.21%
Virginia   7.48%
Washington   20.77%
West Virginia   -29.23%
Wisconsin   12.23%
Wyoming   -12.75%