Did Obama really change the map? Is his coalition sustainable? [View All]

[Whoa20]

Kudos to Barack Obama, and his decisive win Tuesday, and congrats to America. for the first time since 1996, we chose the right party to be in charge. But for all the talk of the electoral college map, did Obama really change it, or did he just do what Kerry did not, meaning give the voters a reason to vote for him? I ask because Barack Obama did not really pick up any new region of the country. He won Kerry/Gore plus stock swing states like IA, NV, OH, and FL, which are won by Dems when they actually win. While he did win VA, NC, and IN, he did so in a year when an incumbent had an approval of less the 1/4 of the people against a joke opponent. I do applaud the increased black turnout. However, Obama, like Kerry got demolished in the white vote, and in Appalachia and even the "new south" like AR, MO, and LA, which all went Clinton twice by sizable margins. So is Obama's map sustainable? He won because he did amazing in the young vote and Latino vote, but who did not turn out in a higher rate than 2004. By 2012, when Obama is not something new or "change," will he be as appealing to young voters? If the GOP uses gay marriage to get Latino votes, as they approved prop 8 in a year where the Dem won the state in a landslide, what does Obama have left? With few whites, he may be in need to reach out to them. Is Obama's coaltion sustainable? Is the electoral map undergoing a potential long term change, or flash in the pan?