Reply #12: I am in rural northern Illinois.

[murielm99]

The largest town in my county has eight thousand people.

And while we are not really that far from Chicago or Rockford, we are definitely rural.

People here are mostly repuke, but we have a thriving Democratic party, and two Democrats on our county board. The city council in the community I live near (pop.2500) has Democrats, too.

Our area went overwhelmingly for Obama. Obama would have beaten Ryan, too, even if the scandal had not happened.

Don't think we lack prejudiced people or religious nuts just because we are in the north! After all, about thirty percent of the people in Illinois voted for Keyes.

On the whole, though, I think the key to Illinois politics is moderation. We won't vote for anyone on either side who seems too extreme.

I would say that the rest of the country's Democrats should be watching Obama closely. He is the key to what we should look for in a new generation of Democratic leaders. He won an overwhelming victory in rural as well as urban counties. He seems to know and understand rural issues. We will need leaders who model themselves after, or behave like Obama, if we are going to win anything in the future.