illinois is the most average state in the union

[madrchsod]

"White, rural and homogeneous. New Hampshire and Iowa play big roles in choosing presidential candidates but don't look much like the rest of the country...

A better bellwether might be Illinois. It's the most average state, according to an Associated Press analysis of data from the Census Bureau....

The AP ranked each state on how closely it matched national levels on 21 demographic factors, including race, age, income, education, industrial mix, immigration and the share of people living in urban and rural areas. The rankings were then combined to determine the state that best mirrors the country as a whole....

Illinois' racial composition matches the nation's better than any other state. Education levels are similar, as is the mix of industry and the percentage of immigrants. Incomes in Illinois are a little higher and the state is more urban the rest of the nation. But the age of the population is very close to the country's mix of minors, seniors and those 18 to 64....."

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20070516-2102-averagestate.html
SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Nation -- Early presidential primary states are far from U.S. average

[eppur_se_muova]

1. So it's exceptionally average? nt

[frazzled]

2. Gee ...

I've only been living here a little more than 2 years, so I didn't realize quite how "average" it is. I once lived in Minnesota, where all the children, as we know, are "above average."

But although this status as "most average" is new to me, I'd been thinking something along those lines recently when considering all the various Democratic candidates. And it occurred to me that rarely do we have a Midwestern candidate, and I can't even think of the last President who hailed from the so-called land of the average in the Midwest. And it occurred to me that this might be a good reason to want to see Barack Obama--unaverage as he is on a personal level--come to represent the party or perhaps even the nation.

I'm tired of pandering to the South (and now to the West). We tried the East last time. It's about time for a Midwestern presence on the national scene: because, apparently, it's the most average there is, and that would mean it would be most representative of the people.

[bigdarryl]

3. So whats the point is this a slap at Obama

[mantis49]

4. I don't think it has anything to do with Obama.

I'm always disappointed that the primaries are pretty much sewed up by NH and IA before IL and other big states can vote. NH and IA are NOT representative of the rest of the country. IL would be a far better indicator because its demographics are closer to those of the rest of the nation. That's my take on the OP.

[William769]

5. I hope so, it will save me the trouble.

:rofl: