Given that Knox county voted for McCain over Obama 61 to 38 percent, how do you figure Knoxville is a liberal cesspool? And UT is a nice campus (UT grad here — electrical engineering). I think you’ve misjudged. Maybe you’re thinking of Asheville?
I can vouch for that! Knoxville is great. It reminds me a lot of Austin,(TX) only the people in K-ville are actually more inclined to use the brains God chose to bless them with.
Asheville? Well, it's not as bad as Aspen maybe, but there are lots of out-of-state lefties who retire there.
First, what was the turnout in '08. I've been told it was quite low, so many liberals probably did not vote knowing Tennessee was going to go republican anyway. Second, Knox county is a bit larger than the city of knoxville ... conservatives live in the suburbs in Knox County and ajoining counties. In the 2000 election, IIRC, Knox county went for Gore, while Tennessee as a whole went for Bush, depriving Gore of his 'home state'. Third, you surely don't want to tell me that the professorship of UT is conservative! In engineering, maybe, but overall quite liberal. I know UT professors ... liberal to leftist for the most part.
Besides, I'm a Bama fan, anyway. ;^) Roll Tide.