Well, this at least proves that the western Virginia coalfield is not averse to voting for a black candidate. Should hopefully put to rest the whole "McCain will win Buchanan county" talk.
Not really; Doug Wilder was a much better fit for Virginia than Obama is.
That's true, but least we can stop degrading these fine folks as racists.
Insofar as that may be true, the argument doesn't hold water. Dukakis won Buchanan County by 18 points in 1988 while getting creamed nationwide (26 points more Democratic than the nation as a whole); Kerry won it by only eight points while losing narrowly nationwide in 2004 (eleven points more Democratic than the nation as a whole). Buchanan County and environs are substantially less Democratic today than they were in 1989.
