My Election Statistic

Here's something absolutely remarkable about Obama's victory: he got people to vote against their economic interests, for him. Now, the Republicans have been doing that for a long time by appealing to social issues and not admitting how bad their policies are for the poor rural conservatives whose votes they almost invariably get (and repay with very little help, economic or otherwise). But this time the Democrats got people to vote against their interests.

George W. Bush won the demographic of people making over $200,000 a year by somewhere around a 2:1 margin. Huge 30-point blowout. But not only was Obama competitive in that demographic, he WON by 6 points. People making over $200,000 a year voted for Obama 53-47. And that's after Obama EXPLICITLY promised to tax them more. He campaigned on raising their taxes, and won their votes. They voted for a better leader, not a better personal tax-deal. Maybe Joe Biden was right, and paying higher taxes is, in this one case, patriotic. I know this little piece of trivia makes me a little prouder to be an American, that Obama inspired people to look long term, not short term, to put their country above themselves, and to prosper from a better nation instead of from tax breaks that favor the wealthy.