[shezza]

I do not like that ugly blue line snaking up the Mississippi River. Must be university towns.

[cripplecreek]

At least 4 of the blue Michigan counties are university towns.

[Misterioso]

I do not like that ugly blue line snaking up the Mississippi River. Must be university towns.

Maybe it's something in the water.

[tom h]

"I do not like that ugly blue line snaking up the Mississippi River. Must be university towns."

No, these are the counties where the nation's poorest blacks live in high percentages. Kerry counties this year, to be sure, but very faithful and someday might become Republican as they identify less and less with the white, elistist, rich lefties that populate the West Coast and New England.

[BushMeister]

I do not like that ugly blue line snaking up the Mississippi River. Must be university towns.

Probably concentration of African Americans, like that band running East-West from western GA, through AL to MS. A Southerner would know better than I.

[rashley]

No, those are very high-minority (Black) Mississippi River Delta areas that also include a large number of the old "yellow dog" Democrats.

The map is excellent!

[WestTexasWend]

River 'rats

[Neville72]

Heavy minority population all up and down the Miss. River.

[Renfield]

"....I do not like that ugly blue line snaking up the Mississippi River. Must be university towns...."

Nope! Guess again. (Hint...these were old cotton plantations...)

[AngrySpud]

That large northern Arizona county that went blue is the home of a university, too. Population-wise, it's small potatoes ... the whole county has less than 150K.

[Political Junkie Too]

I do not like that ugly blue line snaking up the Mississippi River.

It's probably people who work the river barge traffic.

-PJ

[Arizona Carolyn]

The blue in the Sierra's and Rockies would be enviro's... same with Coconino County (along with NAU hippy-types). The North Coast of California is a bit of enigma -- San Francisco we all understand --but San Jose and Silicon Valley?

[jamaly]

I do not like that ugly blue line snaking up the Mississippi River. Must be university towns.

IIRC that area is almost as poor as the Apalachian region. Even many of the whites in that area live off the government. They all vote RATS because it has worked so well for them.<>sarcasm off