Obama, minorities, macaca

In 25 California counties, Obama did better than his state number (42.3%), and in 33 counties, he did worse. According to 2006 census data, California's racial demographics are as follows:

WB (white, non hispanic + black) = 49.8%
AH (asian + hispanic) = 48.3%.

In ALL 25 counties where Obama did better than his state average, AH population is less than 48.3% of county population. There is not a single exception.

(Descending order of Obama's vote%)(Click on chart for full-size version)

















Top three in terms of AH proportion are San Francisco (Obama=52.1, AH=46.2), Alameda (Obama=50.7, AH=45.8) and San Mateo (Obama=43.5, AH=46.6). Out of those three, SF and Alameda stand out. Obama's number in San Mateo is not that different from state average, and he did lose that county even though he did better than state average. Interestingly, SF's Asian-Hispanic breakdown is 32-14, but it is more even in Alameda (24-21) and San Mateo (23-23). Bottom ten of the 33 counties where Obama did worse than his state average are all AH-heavy -- to be more precise, H-heavy -- except Tehama. Alpine county, the only CA county with significant (20.8%) American Indian or Alaskan native population, seems to have liked Obama, though.

(Descending order of Obama's vote%)(Click on chart for full-size version)


















On the other side, dejected talk radio luminaries were heard ruminating on Macacagate and what could have happened if only George Allen -- the great uniter of security hawks, evangelists and fiscal conservatives -- was allowed to run. Words and phrases such as "set-up", "ridiculous accusation" and "taken down early" dominated the discussions.