Two Distinct Americas Emerge on Campaign Trail

Vastly different crowds appear at the rallies of the candidates who started their campaigns calling for bipartisan unity, a roving New York Times reporter finds. Republican rallygoers shout to a country-pop soundtrack; the Democratic faithful dance to folk and Motown. Flag pins, pompoms, and patriotic songs define GOP gatherings, while Dems favor buttons and the word "change."

The GOP crowds express fear of the "socialist" Obama—and dislike for his wife—while Democrats fear the "irrelevant" Republicans might still somehow snatch the election. But both groups seem amazed that supporters of the rival party have yet to come to their senses. "When I think of the other side, I think of a giant troop of lemmings,” said one man in a "Plumbers for McCain" T-shirt.
(More Election 2008 stories.)