"New Economy States" are Blue States

This caught my eye:

Massachusetts is the state best positioned for growth when the current economic turmoil recedes, according to the 2008 State New Economy Index released Tuesday.

So sayeth the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a think tank that works with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to produce the "State New Economy Index" each year.

They use 29 variables, grouped in five categories: knowledge jobs, globalization, transformation into a digital economy, "technological innovation capacity," and "economic dynamism." To be honest I don't really know the details of what goes into this, but I worked with people at the Kauffman Foundation when I was on the Hill and I know they're smart on issues of entrepreneurship.

I took a look at the rankings of states and noticed something interesting: the highest-ranking "new economy" states are overwhelmingly blue, while the lowest ranking states are overwhelmingly red.

The top 11 states in the index all voted for Barack Obama this year. So did 17 of the top 20. The bottom 8 states - and 15 of the bottom 20 - voted for John McCain.

The state where I was born, raised and educated ranks first. My current home? 45th.