Changing the Vote

I found an amazing article that is a bit old, but non the less fits this weeks readings wonderfully. As horrible as it is i almost shed a tear when reading the stories of the people in this article. You can find the article at http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/04/obama.history/index.html Its title is

Obama's victory caps struggles of previous generations

The main point of the story is the way in which the American society has changed over time. It includes an interview with Peggy Wallace Kennedy, the daughter of the late George Wallace. For those of you who do not know he was the Alabama Governor who vowed to never let segregation die. Peggy, voted for Obama. This is the best example i can think of to show that you are not stuck with what your parents decide. As the book states, significant event can change the party identification of people. In this case a large portion of an entire generation.

Another important point that the article made that validated an idea have been toying with in my head for a bit was the reason that Obama took such a large portion of the White vote. Due to the prominent roll that so many African Americans have played in recent years the white voters are more use to seeing a black man in a prominent roll. From Colin Powell to Dennis Haysbert, he played a black president in the television series "24", the American society is becoming more comfortable with this change, as they should!!!!

I defiantly suggest reading this full article. It makes a great deal of sense and goes with the ideas in the readings.

Times A Changing

In the past many demographics could be expected to vote in a certain way. The were predictable to say the least. The last election showed many changes in these demographics and the way in which they voted. According to the information found on CNN.com and the article "Introduction-“Gapology” and the Presidential Vote" by Laura R. Olson and John C. Green several changes have occurred.

The race gap has increased overwhelmingly, for obvious reasons, towards the Democrats. The income gap has shrunk, only slightly, but it has changed none the less now favoring the Democrats. The gender gap has also lessened but this time in favor of the Republicans, and the age gap has increased toward the Republicans.

When analyzing the information in these two sources I found what you would have expected in most cases. There, however, was one area that was shocking. In the income brackets the $75,000 - $100,000 grouping as well as the $200,000 and above categories the vote went to Obama in the last election. This is surprising to me for the simple fact that every piece that we have read as well as the "gapology" for several of the last elections, states that most people that are in these higher income brackets vote on a regular basis for Republicans. The change was a great thing to see as it shows that we as a society are not as polarized as these articles seem to think that we are.
It also shows that more Democrats are starting to vote. As the book, "Parties, Politics, and Public Policy in America", states that even though those polled show a higher percentage of Democratic partisanship , there are still more republicans that vote. It is good to see that people are finally taking the initiative and responsibility upon themselves to vote.

As our weekly readings have stated there are no guarantees in any one of the demographics listed. People are not just a part of one group, (i.e. you have a race, sex, income, ect...) This can make it difficult to make assumptions about the way people may vote. The latest election has proven this to be true. While the party that you may identify with may be set at birth and be "sticky" I believe that we have seen a reason for people to change there minds. A charismatic African American president that could really relate to, and speak to the people and explain his policy was enough to get through the stickiness of party identification.