Perhaps academia breeds open-mindedness and forward thinking.
I'm still in college and I find that academia doesn't breed anything. It is a conglomeration of late adolescents who are all striving to be independent, accepted, and different. Face facts, Obama is young and charismatic, McCain is a crabby old bastard. College students are poor, (for the most part) easily influenced by the opposite sex, and often have an idealistic political viewpoint. In this respect academia is a perpetuation of backwards ass thinking that is constantly called "progressive"
Communism, for example. I grew up and America was fighting the great evil empire. We didn't play cops and robbers, we played spies. Communism was the great enemy in the form of the USSR. Then Communism failed in Russia, No more big bad guy. Communism starts to become not so much of a faux-pas here. Communism is a beautiful idea, and very appealing to students. Everyone working together toward common goals, each providing for his neighbors needs and getting his needs filled by his neighbors. It is a very appealing and Utopian idea. The trouble with it is...humanity. Apply actual human traits to this utopian idea and it doesn't work, period. College age kids haven't figured all this out yet, and the academics bury themselves in the culture.
This is where the Barack vote comes in. Not one of open mindedness, but one of excitement, hope, and change. Is anyone honestly negatively impacted by the current president before the economy goes sour? I was positively impacted when the gun ban was lifted, and negatively impacted when I go to the airport, but as a whole my life has not been impacted by this "regime" minus one incident I have been protected from enemies foriegn and domestic, still have all my freedoms etc. The negative was talked up constantly, there was constant bleating from the media, professors, and other students. Along comes someone who promises change, with a few of those utopian principles in tow. Oh, and he's gonna be the first black president, don't you want to make history?
Open minded indeed, a practical blank slate to write on what you wish. There are those who are truly open minded in academia and you'll notice that they voted in higher concentrations around universities for candidates like Bob Barr, and Ron Paul. A vote for Barack was not an open minded vote but one of falling into the flock and doing the cool thing.
dang man, I rambled....
