Barack Obama and the Hairy Ainu of Appalachia

Dee Davis, in Salon, writes about Barack Obama's problems with the Hairy Ainu of Appalachia.

Heck, one of the reasons I developed an interest in both the Chechens and Afghanis was that they struck me as "Muslim hillbillies."

And, of course, anyone who reads this will probably already know that the reference to Hairy Ainu (by Toynsbee no less!) is a comparison with the Japanese who lived (very much apart from mainstream Japanese society) on the mountainous isle of Hokkaido.

I liked the paragraph about internet trolls' reactions to Appalachia's failure to recognize the Obamessiah:

The legions of pseudonym-laden online posters who follow in political punditry's wake are less restrained in describing the shortcomings of Sen. Clinton's Appalachian supporters. They suggest it has to do with her voters being racist, toothless, shoeless, and prone to marrying their cousins. In short, they characterize these "special" Democrats in much the same terms they used in quieter times to describe Republicans.