The power of racism and misogny

NPR ran another in a series of stories covering various regions of the nation in an effort to find out how we could elect a game show host/insult comedian as our president in 2016.   This time it was a nearly all white county in Indiana whose 15 minutes of fame is the result of going twice for Obama, but then voting for Trump.  The plucky reporter managed to interview only white men who somewhat stupidly allowed as how they wanted change and since Obama didn't deliver the kind of change they wanted, Trump's message of disruptive change echoed positively.  Most of them also stated they felt Trump was the lesser of two evils and they couldn't stand Hillary.   What I came away with was the feeling most of these erstwhile citizens would have voted for Jack the Ripper if he was the alternative to Hillary.  It would seem many of my fellow citizens value change more than the continuation of policies which have lifted many women and people of color out of poverty and obscurity.   Many pundits have attributed Trump's victory to the economic anxiety of the working class voter who is feeling left behind by other groups.  That may have driven some voters to pull the lever for an unqualified, self dealing pathological liar, but a more sturdy explanation is the fundamental prejudice many people see as their right to practice.  Never underestimate the power of hatred of women and "the other" in American politics.