May Be better than Red and Blue.

Although all the rage in pop political analysis books is on Thomas Frank's What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America (Metropolitan, ISBN 0805073396), I think John Sperling's just-published The Great Divide: Retro vs. Metro America (PoliPoint Press, ISBN 0976062100) will provide much trenchant analysis to make present and future sense of the divide for which Frank seeks an historical explanation. Both are worth your time, but I right now refer your attention to the Retro vs. Metro distinction, for which I excerpt here:

The Political Divide
   The "Great Divide" is a geopolitical concept we use to organize our discussion of American politics. It views the geographical distribution of political power as a determining factor in shaping the electorate and the two major political parties. Geopolitically, America is two nations. We call these two nations Retro and Metro America. Retro America is defined by the South, the Midwest, and the Rocky Mountain states; Metro America by the two coasts and the Great Lakes states. The existence of these two nations was dramatically thrust onto the American consciousness by the election of 2000; since that time there has been common reference to "Red states," which went to George W. Bush, and "Blue states," which went to Al Gore. Map 1-1, showing the results of the 2000 election, has become an iconic portrait of the political divide at the presidential level [compare this with the "Retro vs. Metro" map].
   But a closer analysis of this divide -- the purpose of "The Great Divide" inquiry -- reveals that the divide is not only geopolitical but also economic, religious, cultural, and social, both historically and in the present day. It is the profundity of these divisions that makes the totality of the Red-Blue Divide; or, as we call it, the Metro-Retro Divide.

Why "Retro" and "Metro"?
   Looking more closely at the November 2000 Red-and-Blue map, we found that 26 Red states have a consistently high percentage of gross state product (GSP) produced by agriculture, mining, nondurable goods and federal military and civilian facilities. In contrast, 24 Blue states rank high on durable goods manufacturing, finance, insurance, and services in general. Taking into consideration states' cultural characteristics, we classified Tennessee as a Retro state even though its economic rank is Metro, and Maine and Virginia as Metro states. We believe that Map 1-6 represents an accurate geographic approximation of the Great Divide between Retro and Metro America. It identifies 25 states as Retro and 25 as Metro. We chose the name "Retro" because the economies of the Red states tend to be dominated by the extraction industries and low-wage manufacturing and federal facilities; and because they are the home of old-fashioned values and the "Bible Belt," with its pro-life, anti-gay convictions and tendency to be more wedded to creationism than to science. We named the Blue states Metro America because they represent the Metropolitan areas that include both the historic industrial base and the "New Economy," new economic classes, a commitment to scientific innovation, and new ways of constructing the world.

I'm most interested to hear whether you think this is a helpful way to consider the basis of the Red-Blue division. The book seems to me particularly important for the consideration of those dear readers who dispute / disbelieve / deny the deep, historical currents underlying the "Two Americas" theme.

Finally, I found both the website, Swing State analysis, and blog all worth some time.

Thoughts? Comments? Critique?