For someone who never did well in geography, I am surprisingly fascinated by maps lately. This one "preserves
state boundaries while showing the states according to their relative
population; on it, Wyoming is half as large as Rhode Island—which is as
it should be, since Wyoming’s population is half that of Rhode Island’s":

This one "is a county-level
map which is area-proportional, and where color shows how intensely the county
went to either party":

Quite beautiful, isn’t it? And another reminder, to those who are
gloating, and to those who are rending their garments, that this
election is not, in fact, a mandate; nor is it an indication that we
have somehow become "two countries", one coastal and one interior. We
are all mixed-up. So to speak.

Thanks to The Progressive Blog Alliance; Three-Toed Sloth; and Crooked Timber.

ADDED 09 November 02004:

This one "use[s] red, blue, and shades of purple to
indicate percentages of voters":