[b9]

You may be right. Maybe folks are voting for the person/character and not so much the style (which irks the :::ahem::: purists no end.)

Whatever reason, it's downright heartening to see the majority of 90+million votes actually tending conservative.

Country music is the heart and home of conservative thinking, and it's always a surprise to find out how many (i.e. Faith Hill? Toby Keith?) are actually liberals!
Crystal Bowersox' bread is buttered by Country now. Maybe there's hope for her.

But to see two dyed-in-the-wool Country finalists is enough to make me think there's hope for America.
Like you say,
Heck, maybe the people who voted are smarter than we give them credit for.

[grania]

re: Crystal Bowersox. I really don't see how she lost last year. I thought the guy who one was bland and not cute enough to get the teenage girl vote.

She is someone I would definitely go listen to, especially in a small venue like those in Northampton MA or the smaller stages at some of the casinos. Not only does she have a great voice, she seems to have lived enough life to have those personal experiences which make her interesting.