You've seen this before:


Well much like the Mercator Projection you are used to as school, it's fine for representing some things, but it is not totally accurate. Here's what I mean.
This is the Mercator Projection map you remember from school:


It is fine for basic navigation, but notice how huge Greenland looks, especially compared to Africa which is actually 14 times larger! One alternative I have always favored is the Peters Projection, which more accurately shows actual area at the expense of distortions in shape of individual land masses.


Here they are side by side:


I bring this up to show that images which are outside the box make you see the world differently. Here's some folks that may let you look at the election and the divisions in this nation in a different light. Red State/Blue State map by electoral college votes:


Neat Huh?

I tinkered with the map and came up with this Electoral College Projections Based Upon Most Recent Rasmussen Reports Survey Data

August 3, 2004--If the Presidential Election were held today, Senator John Kerry would win 227 Electoral Votes, President George W. Bush would win 197 Electoral Votes. 114 Electoral Votes would be in the toss-up category.

Now you can really see why Ohio and Pennsylvania are such a prizes.