There is a great episode of Homicide: Life on the Street when Det. Stuart Gharty (Character) a seemingly insensitive middle-aged white guy takes his Latina partner Det. Laura Ballard (Character) into an area that probably is West Virgina (in the story) to a "community" of poor white trash. These white people are inbred, filthy, ignorant, and no one can take their racism seriously because they truly are on the bottom of the shit pile. The whole scene is defined by a single comment by him to her "You never thought you'd see white people living like this."

Horton sounds like he is living better than the people depicted in the TV show, but that scene in that episode is what comes to my mind when I read things like what you quoted. Who the F*** cares if Obama wins WV. He really has won the nomination.

The only reason that WV even has HVAC is due to Jay Rockefeller practically adopting the state. Speaking of which, I heard an interview several years ago with Jay Rockefeller talking about his move to WV, and as he talked about the beauty, poverty, and potential of the state I expected him to paraphrase Victor Kiam's slogan: "I liked the shaver so much, I bought the company" for his Remington firm, and say "I like the state so much I bought it." Jay Rockefeller is the best thing I know about WV, and perhaps that not saying much.