Looking at the vote distribution map of Wisconsin and some other states which have strongly polarized electorates.

"In the Wisconsin recall, Democrat votes were concentrated in a few, mostly urban counties. Superior area in the NW, Milwaukee-Dane, Kenosha, La Crosse.
Rural and small town voters opted to stay with the Republican governor."

That is a very simplistic point of view. Exit polls showed that 18% of those voting for Walker supported President Obama.

"The rural-small town voters won by a small majority, and the recall was defeated."

About 80% of America lives in cities and suburbs. About 20% is rural It is about the same in Wisconsin. How did 20% of the population get 51% of the vote?

"These non-urban voters must be won in many states if Obama hopes to be re-elected.
Some who post here would regard these voters as brain-washed, ignorant
Teapubs. Is that true? Or do they reflect the dissatisfaction with the current economic conditions in the US (and much of Europe)
They must be won, not denigrated. "

No the teapubs cannot be won. They are the same 25% of the population that has always voted Republican (or at least "conservative") no matter what they are the people who watch Fox and listen to Limbaugh because they would rather be agreed with than learn. Thank God they are aging and being out-bred by sensible, loyal productive Americans. We need to educate, speak out against the nonsense and wait for the slow but sure demographic sea change to render them irrelevant.