Was Lincoln Wrong?

Frank Bruni in his NY Times column today provided the following information about two of our southern states, Mississippi and Alabama:

Asked if they think Barack Obama is a Christian or a Muslim, 14 percent of likely primary voters in Alabama said Christian, while 45 percent said Muslim. In Mississippi, 12 percent said Christian, while 52 percent said Muslim.

Asked if they believe in evolution, 26 percent of respondents in Alabama said yes, while 60 percent said no. In Mississippi, 22 percent said yes, while 66 percent said no.

Really, did we have to keep the union.  How many of you have felt over the years that we'd be much better off as two countries.  I've often thought how nice it would be if New York State were separate, sort of a Switzerland of Europe, keeping most of the money (actually all of it) it pays in federal taxes for itself.  Why do we have to pay to support states like Mississippi and Alabama when they haven't moved an inch since the Civil War in civility or intelligence?  Oh, and by the way, they gave more of their votes to Rick Santorum last night.