If the same electorate that turned out to vote in 2010 had turned out to vote in 2012, then President Romney would be planning his inauguration as you read this column. But the electorate that showed up in 2012 was very different. It was much younger, much more diverse and significantly less educated.

Only 12 percent of the electorate were 18-29 in 2010, but they made up 19 percent of the electorate in 2012. And while whites made up 77 percent of the electorate in 2010, they made up just 72 percent of the electorate in 2012. The percentage of college-educated voters also fell, from 52 percent in 2010 to 47 percent in 2012.