You vote what you eat

Before you pour yourself that white wine for dinner, better ask whether you want to see Hillary in the White House. If you prefer McCain, make it a scotch.

A New York Times article today on micromarketing examines how political strategists are using information on what we buy, eat, and drive to target their campaigns. Among the findings:

• Democrats prefer Pepsi-Cola, Sprite, clear liquors like gin and vodka, white wine, and Evian water. They prefer Popeyes fried chicken and organic foods (the article doesn't explain the apparent contradiction here). They are more likely than Republicans to subscribe to gourmet cooking magazines.
  
• Republicans favor Dr. Pepper, brown liquors like bourbon or scotch, red wine, and Fiji water. They eat at Chick-fil-A.

Strategists break it down even further. The article quotes Mark Penn (Clinton't former chief strategist and a miscrotargeting expert) as saying that Obama "has more of the arugula vote.... Senator Clinton's voters are more likely to be making ends meet and so they do a lot more cooking at home and a lot less eating out at expensive restaurants."

Not everyone buys that this is a great way to target a campaign, of course, and there are many cross-over eaters. Still, next time you're out to dinner with friends, look at what they order and ask yourself, Are these really my kind of people?