Cross-posted on my blog, here.
Yeah, he's not my first choice, and no, the blog community probably isn't united behind John Kerry, but ordinary Democratic voters across the country certainly are. And I'm not just talking about geography. Yeah, Kerry's now won in the midwest (IA, MO, ND), the northeast (NH), the east coast (DE), the southwest (AZ, NM) and he was competitive in the south (OK, SC). In two major swing states, John Kerry has united liberal and moderate Democrats, Black, White and Hispanic Democrats, young and old Democrats, male and female Democrats, union and non-union Democrats and pro-war and anti-war Democrats. Take a look at the exit polls of the two Red States that voted yesterday where Democrats need to seriously compete in order to beat George W. Bush - Arizona and Missouri. Via CNN.
Take a look at Arizona. Kerry won the votes of 44% of men and 41% of women. Young voters (18-29) went 34% for Kerry, 30-44 gave him 40%, 45-64 gave him 39% and 65+ gave him 48%. Kerry had 42% of Whites and 43% of Latinos. Kerry had 43% of Union households and 41% of non-Union households, 45% of liberals and 40% of moderates, 35% of those who approved of the Iraq war and 44% of those who opposed the war.
Moving on to Missouri, Kerry won 51% of men and 50% of women. Young voters (18-29) gave Kerry 49%, 45% among 30-44, 50% for 45-64 and 59% for 65+. Kerry won 50% of Whites and 53% of African-Americans, 52% of Union households and 50% of non-Union households, 51% of liberals and 53% of moderates, and 44% who approved of the war in Iraq and 54% who opposed it.
Kerry's not my first choice, but if exit polls are to be believed (and they were pretty accurate today), it's begining to look like John Kerry is the candidate that can unite the Democratic Party to beat Bush. On the other side, Dean, Clark and Edwards are begining to look more like niche candidates.