New York Times liberal reporter turned liberal columnist Timothy Egan's Thursday night nytimes.com column, "Tribes of the Swing States [1]," began with an intriguing rundown of what Obama and Romney have in common, before swerving into smug liberalism:
What’s little known, and certainly unmentioned on the campaign trail, is what Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have in common. Both have family histories with polygamy. Both had fathers born in foreign countries. Both went to Harvard. Both are wealthy.
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Romney can count on the often inchoate grudge block, people who vote against somebody, rather than for -- a large part of the Republican base this year. Obama has certainly angered Wall Street, Southern whites and no small amount of conservative Roman Catholics.
But Romney has a longer list of people who may be disinclined to vote for him. Latinos. Gays. Gay soldiers. People who were bullied as kids. Dog lovers. People who like sex. People who use contraception during sex. People who want “free stuff,” as Romney classified those without health care on Wednesday. People who believe in science.