Could Beer Re-Elect Obama As President?
With all the media attention following President Obama's beer choices, beer stops on the campaign trail, and finally, his homebrew recipe, politicos have to wonder whether the beer-drinking is working in Obama's favor. Turns out, new polls show it is.
Three new polls in the last week show huge gains for Obama with male voters over his opponent Mitt Romney; and it could be because of the "dude next door" image both men are trying to achieve. Said the Wall Street Journal, Obama is trying to shed his prissy-drinker image (his staff says he's a big martini drinker), by making several beer stops along the campaign trail. (And The Daily Beast points out that he's come a long way in his beer taste; back in 2008, he asked whether popular Pennsylvania brew Yuengling was a "designer beer." Ouch.) Now, Romney is trailing Obama in the "likeability" polls; 23 percent for Romney compared to 58 percent for Obama.
And Joe Sixpack, the Philadelphia Daily News beer reporter, broke down Obama's support among beer lovers, and it's true. In a new infographic, he found that in states with the highest density of breweries, the top 25 states all went to Obama in 2008. The District of Columbia won out; with four breweries in its small space, and it went to Obama. Likewise, states less densely packed with breweries voted Republican. Wrote Joe Sixpack in his article, "Here's how I interpret it: The density of breweries in a state is at least partly related to the density of its population; the more people, the more breweries. Obama performs better in densely populated states because urban populations tend to be more diverse and liberal."
Could all the beer guzzling pay off for Obama in the end? Could the new initiative to produce his homebrew clinch a win in November? We'll have to see.