Election Reveals Two Americas

-Two Americas, and you can see them on a map. The concept of two or more Americas that coexist without interacting is an old one, and it’s on flamboyant display now as so many Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton supporters regard one another as natives of a land they barely recognize. The two Americas are conventionally defined by demographic measures like income and education, but this year they’re easily visible on a map. The latest RealClearPolitics electoral map shows a striking pattern: Every state that favors Clinton (except for one, Colorado) is on America’s periphery – each borders an ocean, a Great Lake, Canada, or Mexico. A New York Times reporter marveled recently that he drove 3,000 miles across the northern U.S. noticing endless Trump signs but traveled nearly 2,500 miles before seeing the first Clinton sign. It’s not so surprising. You can easily drive across the country east to west, starting at the Atlantic Ocean anywhere south of Virginia, and stay entirely in red states until reaching the solidly blue West Coast. It’s an unfortunate reality regardless of which side you favor, if you believe today’s venomous partisanship is bad for the country. The geographic nature of the partisan divide makes it easier for inhabitants of the two Americas to avoid even crossing each other’s paths.

-Predictable Democrats and disrupted Republicans. Last year about this time Fortune published its annual predictions for the year ahead. (This year’s edition will appear soon.) Our predicted Democratic ticket was exactly right: Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine. But our clairvoyance dimmed when we turned to the Republicans: We foresaw Marco Rubio and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. It’s a reminder of how utterly Trump’s success blindsided everyone, I think including Trump. Already we’re accommodating our thinking to the reality of him as the nominee, but we shouldn’t let that happen. We need to remember the magnitude of the Trump phenomenon, that just 12 months ago it was unthinkable, and acknowledge that we’re still nowhere near understanding it fully.

-Start thinking about presidential appointees, if you haven’t started already. The people surrounding the president are almost as important at the president himself or herself. Take a look at Politico’s speculation about who might sit in West Wing offices under a President Trump or a President Clinton. We’ve met some of them in the campaign – Trump’s daughter Ivanka, his fired campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, not to mention Bill Clinton and Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. Others are surprises. Some are both – would Trump really make New Jersey Governor Chris Christie attorney general? Once we know who’s president, those appointees will play a powerful role in shaping our world.

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What We're Reading Today

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