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| | Missouri - The Show-Me state always picks right in the presidential campaign. Will 2004 break its streak? By Chris ... |
 | | Politically, the map of Missouri resembles the nation's: The red-blue divide from the county-by-county map of the 2000 election is marked by blue "coasts" around Kansas City and St. Louis, with a giant, mostly red swath in the middle. |
 | | The areas outside of the state's two major metropolitan areas are known in politics as "outstate," and just as national politicians in America tend to hail from the South and Midwest, successful statewide politicians in Missouri almost always come from outstate, particularly the southwest. |
 | | In the rest of Missouri, St. Louis is perceived as an uppity, eastern enclave—"The Gateway Arch, they claim it's the gateway to the West, but I always thought it was the back door to the East," a Jefferson City lobbyist told me—and its candidates fare poorly in Missouri's statewide races. |
| www.slate.com /id/2101779 (1616 words) |
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