Importance of South Dakota

It is in South Dakota that Ken watches the results of the 2012 presidential election in which President Obama is elected for a second term. This prompts Ken to reflect on how, after Obama's first term, he has lost some of the hope and optimism for change that he had in 2008. Because he is a lone progressive in a sea of conservatives, watching the election in South Dakota take on a particular significance and is likely a different experience for Ken who presumably watched the results of previous elections among like-minded friends. South Dakota therefore represents the political differences and divides in the United States.