Mapscape

OK, I lied. I'm back after a break of less than 24 hours. But only for a moment. And without any sort of commentary. I leave you now with a few pretty pictures and one incredible tidbit from today's Politico:

"With unofficial tallies of the popular vote past 64 million (and still counting, as Georgia and other states tally the paper), Obama won more votes than any president in history."

Now the maps (click to enlarge):














This map represents how the country voted when compared to the 2004 election. The redder the area, the greater the shift toward Republicans. The bluer the area, the greater the shift toward the Democrats!












Or, looked at another way, these are the only areas in which McCain did better than Bush did in 2004.













This map shows self-reported ancestory. I include it simply as a fascinating look at this country's ethnic make-up, and how (and where) that make-up voted on Tuesday. Note the matches, especially with those sections from the earlier images showing McCain's strongest support and those same areas on this map showing the ethnic make-up of those who deemed themselves simply "Americans," the dark gray. African-Americans are represented in yellow, Hispanics in red, Germans in pale turquoise and the English in dark blue. The Irish are represented in light green, Italians in dark green and American Indians in orange.













Finally, many believe that Sarah Palin, in the late days of the campaign, blundered when she insisted small town America is the "real America" -- both a political and demographic mistake. False nostalgia aside, it is simply not true. According to census data taken in 2000, just shy of 80 percent of Americans lived in urban areas, a number that is doubtless even higher now. The map above shows U.S. population density. For an even more interactive, if ever so slightly dated map, click here.