[Happy Times]

Originally Posted by Max2147

The division lines aren't that clear. Here's the 2008 election map by county, with shades of purple instead of red/blue: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/2008/countymappurpler1024.png

Now try drawing a clear cut line on that map....

Here's the 2004 map, which is very similar: http://www.princeton.edu/~rvdb/JAVA/election2004/purple_america_2004.gif

This isnt an Democratic vs Republican issue. There is an distinct culture in the South still, North is more heterogeneous. In historical perspective the Civil War isnt that far, it and the Reconstruction live in the collective memory.