Decoding the Decals

During the fall, many friends and students pointed out to me that they frequently saw Kerry-Edwards bumper stickers, but hardly ever saw "W" or Bush-Cheney. Various bloggers also commented on this too.

Since millions more people voted BC than voted KE, the lack of BC stickers seems pretty odd. Maybe my acquaintances just didn't drive in Bush country? Because I live in a blue part of a red state, this seems plausible, if unlikely.

However, in the past month, I've visited a fair sampling of red America: Kentucky, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. I think I have an explanation for the relative paucity of decals for the incumbent.

Bush-Cheney supporters often had this decal (or magnet) on their car instead:



For my postmodern readers, let me also note something else I observed about these stickers. A lot of people put them on their cars sideways, which makes them look a little like this common Christian emblem:



In any case, the yellow "support our troops" ribbon stickers easily outnumber the Kerry-Edwards bumper stickers on cars across red America.