I just discovered one of the most interesting demographic breakdowns for the United States I have ever seen. It’s from the Christian Science Monitor and is called “Patchwork Nation.” Check it out. I was surprised to see that Fresno County is categorized as a “Boom Town” and not as an “Evangelical Epicenter.”
And while you’re at the CSM, read this fascinating commentary, which suggests that the “principal narrative” driving the presidential race is “‘policy’ versus ‘character.’”
It’s fair to say that this character/policy divide has been evident in Patchwork Nation for a while. Even as Mr. Bush’s rating has dropped in the polls, for example, the people who have continued to support him say they do because they like and respect him personally. Most of them live in our more socially conservative enclaves.
But as the campaign has progressed and the economy has worsened, the question in many of our communities has switched from “What kind of person are you?” to “What are you going to do?”
I think that concept does a pretty good job of explaining the tensions evident in one of my brother’s recent posts.