Turnout in Swing States Exceeds 2008 (!!) [View all]

[alcibiades_mystery]

One of the more interesting numbers emerging from the continuing count of the 2012 Presidential election is this one: .01%. That's the margin by which the 2012 total vote in 12 designated "swing states" exceeds the total vote in those states in the 2008 election. More precisely, in 2008, 44,659,370 total votes were tallied in the twelve swing states. In 2012, at the current count, 44,665,350 votes have been tallied - an increase of roughly 6,000 votes, with more, no doubt, to come.

Let me repeat this: more people in the twelve swing state voted in 2012 than voted in 2008. Moreover, Obama's lead in those states is larger than his national lead in percentage terms, and pretty damn large in raw terms, at 1,801,140. Obama won the twelve swing states by 1.8 million votes. Just as a measure, Bush won the entire country by only 3.01 million (on edit: originally stated 2.01 million) in 2004. Needless to say, Obama won every swing state but North Carolina. Obama's margin nationally is over 4.45 million.

This was an ass-kicking. Don't let anyone tell you Obama pulled one out in a squeaker. This was a downright ass-kicking.

The media always mistook Obama's support. They misrepresented it as "enthusiasm" (a polite way of saying "unthinking fanaticism&quot in 2008. When they didn't see the same in 2012, they assumed Obama had lost his support. Wrong. It was never "enthusiasm." In 2008 it was joyful determination, a rebirth of progressive principles. In 2012, it was grim determination, a recognition of the importance of those principles. And that was Obama's argument both times. People make too much of "spin," as if rhetoric means deception or dishonesty. Rhetoric is simply the art of argumentation - Obama made successful arguments about the direction the country should take, both times.

I'll repeat again: more people in the twelve swing state voted in 2012 than voted in 2008. Obama, for his part, zooms toward 65 million votes overall.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/lv?key=0AjYj9mXElO_QdHpla01oWE1jOFZRbnhJZkZpVFNKeVE