Bowling Green (Ky.) Daily News reviews American Character

I was in Kentucky briefly earlier this week, signing some copies of American Character at Newport's Barnes & Noble en route to CVG, so it seems appropriate that the Bowling Green Daily News just reviewed said book, and glowingly so.

Thanks to Western Kentucky University's Aaron Hughey for the kind words. "“American Character” is an eye-opening critique and analysis that should be read by anyone interested in the future direction of our republic," he concludes. "I recommend it highly."

For those in Ohio, there are now signed copies of this and other titles at The Booksellers on Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati and at the B&N in Columbus's Polaris Mall.

Obama and Appalachia, Obama and King

Amongst political denizens, Barack Obama's surprisingly narrow margins of victory in Democratic presidential primaries in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Arkansas have been the talk of the day. Needless to say, the American Nations paradigm would predict precisely this outcome.

Yesterday, to my pleasure, the blog world took notice.

First, The New Republic's Alec MacGillis blogged on what American Nations has to say about Obama's "Greater Appalachia problem".

I chimed in with an extra cent or two on Romney's shared weakness -- and links to the "nations map" -- over at Washington Monthly.

And then Andrew Sullivan -- who has one of the most read political blogs in the country at The Daily Beast -- flagged the TNR piece. This morning Politico's Charles Mahtesian joined in, with links back to my map here at World Wide Woodard.

Meanwhile, I was reporting out this story at the Portland Press Herald

on the low-intensity conflict over Maine independent US Senate candidate Angus King's political donations to Obama. (It was also quickly picked up by Politico's Mahtesian, undoubtedly unaware he'd made two Woodard posts in 24 hours.)

Not a bad day, digitally speaking.

OpEd on American regionalism picked up by McClatchy

My recent OpEd on American regionalism is making the rounds after having been picked up by the McClatchy-Tribune News Service. Originally written for last Sunday's edition of the Fredericksburg (Va.) Free Lance-Star, in the past 48 hours its run in at least five other U.S. dailies. (Some versions are shortened from the original). Hopefully this list includes one near you:

The San Jose Mercury-News (Left Coast)


The Savannah Morning News (Deep South)


The Bellingham Herald (Washington; Left Coast)


The Oregonian (Left Coast)


The Bradenton Herald (Florida; Deep South)

[Update, 2/12/2012: a seventh, eighth, and ninth paper:]

The Lewiston Sun Journal (Maine; Yankeedom)


The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky; Greater Appalachia)


Sacramento Bee (Far West)

[Update, 2/14/2012: Two more:]

Juneau Empire (Alaska, Left Coast)


Contra Costa Times (California, Left Coast)

[Update, 2/20/12: my hometown paper:]

Maine Sunday Telegram (Yankeedom)

On the 2011 elections, the Tea Party,and the American Nations at Washington Monthly

For those interested in what the American Nations paradigm might have to say in regards to the results of the 2011 off-year election, please have a look at my blog posting on the topic over at Washington Monthly's Ten Miles Square.

In short: results in Maine, Ohio, and Kentucky indicate that the Tea Party is in trouble not just in the sprawling "nation" I call Yankeedom and its allies -- the topic of my feature in the current print issue of the magazine -- but in the Midlands and Greater Appalachia as well. A Deep Southern political agenda -- and that's what the Tea Party and, foolishly, the governors of Maine, Ohio, and Wisconsin have partially embraced -- is alienating the mainstream in these other regional cultures, none of which embrace the notion that the society should be organized around the interests of an oligarchy.

For more on this, I welcome you -- nay, beg you -- to read the book.