Geek And Nerd Call-Out

As what looks like an ongoing Brotherhood of the Nerds thing, I can actually offer a plausible explanation of Obama's laughable geography lesson noted most recently at The NRO Media Blog and by Prof. Althouse:

"What it says is that I'm not very well known in that part of the country," Obama said. "Sen. Clinton, I think, is much better known, coming from a nearby state of Arkansas. So it's not surprising that she would have an advantage in some of those states in the middle."

First, props to Powerline for their guess:

Maybe Obama thinks states 51 through 57 are located somewhere between Illinois and Kentucky. All I can say is, it's a good thing for Obama he isn't a Republican.

And now, the explanation secretly being invoked by closeted geeks and nerds everywhere - Obama is a Hari Seldon/Foundation fan.

Geez, do I have to explain?  The two foundations were located at opposite ends of the galaxy.  But "opposite" did not mean "geographical" opposite, it meant cultural opposite.  Hello!  Doesn't everyone learn this in school?

Clearly Obama, a secret sci-fi fan, thinks that Kentucky is culturally nearer in spirit to Arkansas than it is to the urban, sophisticated Chicago he thinks of when he thinks of Illinois.  And he might be right!  Per the take-it-to-the bank Wikipedia, Kentucky was a Civil War Border State (Arkansas was a slave state in 1860; if I am reading Barack's old classroom notes correctly, Illinois had not yet been purchased from Russia.)  However:

After Reconstruction, most of the border states adopted Jim Crow laws resembling those enacted in the South, but in recent decades some of them (most notably Delaware and Maryland) have become more Northern in their political, economic, and social orientation, while others (particularly Kentucky and West Virginia) have adopted a Southern way of life.

Some cultural markers - the University of Kentucky plays with Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference; Louisville, on the other hand, is in the television-happy Big East.

MORE:  Something with which Barack can while away the idle hour or two on the road.

Comments

[Appalled]

Good thing states 51-57 don't exist. Hillary would win their primaries.

[MayBee]

Conan O'Brien had a thing a few weeks ago with the new state quarters for various states.

Tennessee's new quarter was a picture of Tennessee and Kentucky with faces and appendages and the motto:
Lying under Kentucky like a bored housewife.

So with that in mind while looking at a map, what is Illinois doing to Kentucky?

[Gmax]

OT but delightful. The Supreme court in not one but two separate decisions reversed the 9th circuit Ct of Appeals on cases with lopsided majorities 8-1 ands 6-3. One was whether or not lying to a customs agent was a serious crime and the 2nd was about recidivist laws.

Since I enjoy seeing the liberal 9th circuit get reversed and keep its nickname "The most reversed appellate court".

You know you got some Obama candidates for the Supreme Court on that bench. Not even all the current court's liberals could agree with them on either matter!

[clarice]

Thanks for reminding me of this, TM:"If I am reading Barack's old classroom notes correctly, Illinois had not yet been purchased from Russia." With age I've lost some of my memory of history or maybe my hotes don't mesh with his.

[Jane]

Obama is a Hari Seldon/Foundation fan.

Finally! An Obama excuse that is at least interesting!

[Jane]

I can tell you with certainty, my "hotes" will never mesh with his!

[Neo]

I believe that the Dallas Cowboys are in the NFL "Eastern Conference" .. go figure.

[Gmax]

That is just to kick the Giants and Eagles in the slats twice a year. Its good for them

[Neo]

I believe Obama is stuck in the State of Confusion.

[Gmax]

Redskins too.

[cathyf]

Now, now, clarice, this is a family-friendly comment section. If you want to do that hote-meshing dirty talk, take it over to protein wisdom!

[Tom Maguire]

I believe that the Dallas Cowboys are in the NFL "Eastern Conference" .. go figure.

I am old enough to remember Atlanta being in the National League West.

[clarice]

Heh--Notes Notes Notes...(In a perfect world, these itty bitty squares for composing comments will become very big so that even after hours online reading, I will be better able to catch my errors.

[Daddy]

I think it's a example of sports dyslexia. The L.A.Lakers used to be the Minnesota Laker's, The Memphis Grizlies were in Vancouver, The Jazz were in New Orlean's, not Salt Lake, The Dodgers were Brooklyn, not LaLaland, and, (if I'm not much mistaken) don't the New York Giants play in Jersey.
Or it could just be that he's geographically confused about Kentucky "Bluegrass", remembering that what he smoked and sold in the back alleys of Chi-town as a disenfranchised youth came from nearby Maui, not Churchill Downs.

[WP Zeller]

Yes, the Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers were indeed New Yawkers.
And the Cubs played on the South Side the last time they won a World Series.
The Braves were in Milwaukee.
And Obama's on the Chicago lakefront, far from the rest of Illinois.
We're next to that.

[Leo]

I've been trying to think how we could get 57 states. We could split California in two (Alta California Norte and Alta California Sur?), add Puerto Rico (maybe including the Virgin Islands; I don't think the VIs could be a state on their own), maybe merge the Northern Marianas with Guam and add that (could throw in American Samoa too if needed). That gets us 53. I've often thought that New York should be split up too, but the real coup there would be to split off NYC and then disenfranchise it like we do to DC, and let the sensible part of New York take over.

After that we may have to take over parts of Canada, though. Not too much, though, or we'd end up with more than 57, which is apparently the goal here.

[moqui]

if you are going to use the "cultural" metaphor, then he's still wrong, because "all those states" are on the "right," culturally, not in the middle.

[JorgXMcKie]

Texas came into the Union with the right to divide into five states if it wishes. I've been told that the only reason it doesn't is the big argument over which piece gets to be called 'Texas'.

And Southern Illinois (I'm from Western Illinois, just north of StLouis, which is *not* Southern Illinois except to outsiders) is way more like Kentucky in *all* ways than it is Chicago. Also, take a look at the Democratic primary county results in Illinois and see just where Appalachia exists. (My ancestors moved from Western Virginia [before there was a West Virginia] and Western North Carolina to the lower Illinois River Valley, where they remain, for the most part, Appalachians.)

If Obama continues to insult and condescend to such people he may be in more trouble in Illinois than he realizes.

[Steve Yuen]

Tom, you're more correct than you let on. The parallel between Asimov's "fictional" universe and today's politics is truly an Astounding Tale. The First Foundation [Hillary] followed Seldon's master plan and thought that it was in control of events. But the Second Foundation [Obama], which most didn't even know existed, had hidden powers and worked behind the scenes. The Second Foundation had to overcome unforeseen obstacles like the Mule [Jeremiah Wright? guns and bitterness?] and was on the verge of triumph when lo and behold, it turned out a mind-reading robot was the real power behind everything. But there the analogy breaks down. I can't think of any robot-like individual who will come to (Democratic) humanity's rescue at this late date.

[M. Simon]

I'm from the Southern part of Illinois. I live 90 miles to the North West of Chicago.

To the boys of Chicago we are all "down state" even if geographically we are to the north of Chicago.

"Downstate" is a state of mind and Obama is full of it.

[cathyf]

In a perfect world, these itty bitty squares for composing comments will become very big so that even after hours online reading, I will be better able to catch my errors.

Well you could get Opera, and set the comment box as big as you like. And after typing in a comment, then you right-click anywhere inside the box and select "check spelling."

Of course, then people would then accuse you of hijacking the identity of the real clarice!

[cathyf]

I dunno, Simon, from down here south of route 80, we figure anybody who lives north of route 88 is practically a cheesehead.

Last week I went with my son on a field trip to Springfield. When our tour guide pointed out the governor's office, someone in our group asked, "how often is the governor in his office?" To the group's chuckles, our young but politically astute tour guide (it's a patronage job, of course) answered "No comment."

(More amusing was when we went downstairs to the "hall of governors". This is a wing which has a portrait of every Illinois governor, hanging two high, arrayed all the way down one side of the wing, and continuing back up the opposite wall. As several people noticed immediately, there is only room for 4 more portraits, and then we are done. I suggested that if we took down the pictures of all of the governors who went to prison, that would free up a whole lot of room...)

[M. Simon]

cathtyf,

I must admit we do have more than a few traitors in our neck of the woods. Some are so brazen as to advertise it with embellishments to their lawn. One guy lives in a prominent spot on the main drag (State St.).

I don't know his personal details so I'm giving him a pass. I'm going to assume he married a foreigner.

[Maureen]

Look, I don't like Obama and his statement was stupid. But the closest point of Arkansas to Kentucky and Illinois is at least thirty miles closer to Kentucky than Illinois. Get a decent map and a straightedge, and see for yourself.

I thought blogs were supposed to be all about the factchecking?

[Porchlight]

Maureen,

You can't be serious. Obama said that he is not as well known in KY as Clinton is, because "she comes from a nearby state" (AR), inferring that he himself does not come from a nearby state. Yes, AR is closer to KY than AR is to IL as you suggest. But AR is not closer to KY than IL (Obama's home state) is to KY. So how can Clinton enjoy a greater "nearby state" advantage in KY than Obama? By definition no state is closer to KY than IL.

I can't believe I just took the time to type that out.