Haven't you read TPM's account of that yet? Or Sullivan's?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/194870.php

And of course every Congressional District in Mississippi has the exact same prop... oh, wait.

Stranger needs to stop engaging these inbred, barefoot, illiterate scribblers.

Those non-Appalachian white states generally have good public education systems - their students score among the highest in the nation on standardized tests- whereas in Appalachia, the schools are severely underfunded and awful. In the non-Appalachian states, huge proportions of high school seniors go on to college. In the Appalachian states almost no one goes to college. As hard a life as farming can be, average Iowans or Vermonters are much wealthier than average West Virginians or Ohio Valley dwellers.

The difference is that whites in North Dakota or Idaho are secure in their station in life. They might not know many blacks, but they're also not threatened by a black person or other minority surpassing them economically. Economically insecure Appalachians are quite threatened by blacks and other minorities getting ahead of them. See, George Packer's reporting on this from Kentucky (http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/georgepacker/2008/04/the-race-in-eas.html).

Obama will probably have to write-off WV and KY. But, there are enough non-Appalachian Democratic votes in PA and OH that he can still win them. Especially, if he picks OH governor Ted Strickland as his running mate.