What Are Americans Like?

Some Americans probably think: Oh,  we're all different,  while others think: not at all; we're basically all like, well, me!

I think the first response is more correct, though in some ways there are common thought-patterns that are shared by a huge variety of people. 

A lot of people think that getting through college will help them get a good job.  (Have you noticed how the really, really wealthy don't look for jobs at all?  They go to work for Mom or Dad, or don't work at all!)  This is partly true; if you want a really high-paying job, then you probably want a college degree.  But there are a lot more low-paying jobs for those without a college degree.  I don't really know the statistics; I'd be interested in knowing what proportion of young people choose not to go to college, and what the median income is for every sort of educational experience. 

It's interesting that how the voting preferences of the population is split up is described in terms of college experience, etc, which is a sort of 1970s approach to politics, even now, 50 years later. 

A lot of people don't pay any attention to newspaper analyses of the polling data.  Honestly, it is expressed by the experts in language that immediately puts off anyone without a college education, or even a good high school education.  I think younger voters are suspicious of anyone who writes in that style (I know; I write in that style too.  Some of the ideas are difficult to explain using grade school language), which means a lot of voters are easy for populist like Trump to persuade, because they don't see any of the downsides of Trump's speeches.  And, honestly, Kamala Harris did not do a great job of really arguing against them.  There is a good reason: she and her team assumed that a lot of voters had really bought into Trump's arguments, and strongly opposing them might hurt or insult those voters.  (Voters who aren't used to arguing politics in school or college can be expected to take any sort of argument personally, and feel insulted.)

There's a lot to be said for believing that there is a deep-seated feeling that any non white, non male will find it impossible to govern this country.  There is a strong belief, certainly among older white men, that blacks and minorities really can't handle leadership.  And if they can't 'see' a woman in the white house, well, they're not going to vote for them.