Yesterday was a very happy day for me because Barack Obama won, beating John McCain 52-46 in the popular vote. That it took the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression, a botched war in Iraq, a deeply unpopular Republican administration, Sarah Palin, and Obama’s far superior intellect, curiosity, vision, heart, and political acumen to prevail only by 6% is hardly confidence-inspiring in the American people. But let us be gracious now and savor the victory such as it is—for the chance to have a smarter leader at the helm, for the milestone it is for US Civil Rights and the fulfillment of a powerful dream, and for the improbable journey of this son of a black Muslim man from the third-world.

From the results of the national exit poll taken yesterday, I have gleaned the following choice bits about the American electorate:

1. Women preferred Obama to McCain by a 56-43 margin; men were evenly split.
2. Working women preferred Obama 60-39; the rest (men and non-working women) were evenly split.
3. Whites (74% of electorate) preferred McCain 55-43 (white men 57-41). Blacks (13% of electorate) chose Obama 94-4, and Latinos and Asians by a two-thirds majority.
4. Married people preferred McCain 52-47. Unmarried people preferred Obama 65-33.
5. 27% of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered people (4% of electorate) voted for McCain.
6. Protestants (54% of electorate) chose McCain 54-45. Catholics chose Obama 54-45, Jews 78-21, others (Muslims, Hindus…) 73-22.
7. 23% of those who indicated their religion as “none” (atheists? 12% of electorate) voted for McCain.
8. A quarter of the electorate identified themselves as White Evangelical/Born-again Christians. A quarter of them voted for Obama.
9. Support for McCain grew with age but only senior citizens (65+) preferred McCain (so much for associating age with wisdom!).
10. Annual family income became a factor only below $50K (60-38 for Obama, though whites in this income group preferred McCain). Above $50K, income was not a factor.
11. About 6% of US families make $15K or less annually. About 6% make over $200K.
12. Those with zero high school education or post-graduate degrees preferred Obama by around 20 point margins. The gap was much smaller with in-between levels of education. (A little knowledge is a dangerous thing!)
13. 22% of people identified themselves as Liberals, 44% as Moderates, 34% as Conservative. Voting for Obama were 90% of the liberals, 60% of the moderates, and 20% of the conservatives.
14. 50% of the electorate is “very worried” about the economy and they preferred Obama 60-38.
15. A third of the electorate had no investments in the stock market and preferred Obama 61-37; the rest were evenly split.
16. 42% of the electorate has a gun at home and they preferred McCain 62-37. The rest chose Obama 65-33.
17. Ex-military people preferred McCain 54-44.
18. Support for Obama increased moving across rural -> suburban -> urban areas.
19. 10% of the people decided who to vote for in the very last week, and then split evenly.
20. 28% of the electorate even today approves of the job Bush is doing.