Professionally, I live by good demographic data. I'm in advertising, and it's my job to try to convince you to buy … buy … buy! The more I know about you, the more carefully I can target my message. The more relevant the message is to you, the more likely you are to buy. So I count on the demographics to tell me who you are, how old you are, where you live, where you shop, etc.My best friend is in the biz, too. He also knows how serious and important the numbers are.
Which is why the demographic profiles of "typical" Clinton and Obama supporters are so amusing. For while it might be spot-on for the rest of the country, it's got my best friend and me all wrong.
The typical Clinton supporter: older, less educated, female, most distressed by the economy, most comfortable retail environment is WAL-MART.
The typical Obama supporter: younger, college educated, male, most distressed by the war, most comfortable retail environment is Starbuck's.
Yet I (the community-college dropout, the 50-year-old woman, the one who avoids WAL-MART but doesn't flinch at the thought of Sears) is leaning toward Obama.
He (the college grad, the certified financial planner, the younger man, the one who has a Starbuck's cup epoxied to his hand) is leaning toward Clinton.
Once again I am reminded by the words of my favorite author, William Goldman: "Nobody knows anything."
