What Does Kris Allen's 'American Idol' Upset Say About the State of the Union? Probably Nothing

by Troy Reimink | The Grand Rapids Press

Throughout the Internet there exists an amazing amount of "American Idol" punditry, both amateur and professional. Looking through the ol' Google feed, they all pretty much agree on one thing about last night's Adam Lambert-Kris Allen finale -- the wrong dude won.

So begins the process of determining what, if anything, it means. Disclosure: I don't watch the show but consider it an interesting sociological exercise. From that perspective, the outcome offered a lot of meat on which to chew.

For instance, what does it say about America when the bland, vanilla coffee-house guy wins over the more talented, stylish, flamboyant (OK, gay, maybe) favorite? Is the country socially regressing? Has the taste of "change" as embodied in President Obama proved too scary for the masses? Does this bode well for the Republicans in 2010 and beyond? All of the above? None?...

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