Racial Attitudes Pose Challenge for Barack Obama

[oldpol]

(06-09) 06:42 PDT Greensburg, Pa. (AP) --


Obama has time and money to court voters. Polls indicate some can be swayed. But the first-term senator is wading into unknown and untested national waters. Political scientists have reams of data about past elections, but there has been no exact guage of how many voters make their ultimate decision based on race.

This answer may determine the presidency. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Florida, with large numbers of white, working-class voters, could prove problematic for a black man even in a year that otherwise looks grim for GOP candidates.

Gauging voter sentiments about race is notoriously difficult. Many voters hide their feelings from pollsters and it is possible that some do not even realize race's influence on their behavior.

In interviews with 40 Pennsylvanians across three counties that Clinton won by big margins, only one person indicated opposition to Obama simply because of his race. But several others said their neighbors might do so. Some offered objections that are familiar, and suspicious, to Obama's aides and supporters.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/06/09/politics/p000831D36.DTL

[TexasObserver]

1. that article's title should have been "Some Old White People Are Afraid of Black Man"

Good Lord, do we really need to hear from any more old white people who are pissing their pants over the thought of a black president? We all know some of them. They're not going to vote for him because they're remorseless old racists who will carry their pathetic prejudices to their graves, which frankly, cannot come soon enough.

[oldpol]

3. remember the Harold Ford US Senate race in Tennessee, that is what I am scared of

He was up something like 5 points on election day in the polls and ended up losing by 8 after the racist RNC 'Playboy super bowl party' ads http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT8ukEUuSGE&feature=related

[TexasObserver]

5. Yes, but I thought he closed badly, as well.

Ford is a nice guy, but he made some tactical errors down the stretch. I don't want to flay him for it now, but he made some miscues I thought really cost him.

And let's remember that Tennessee went for Bush over Gore. It is a GOP state.

Older white people are mainly a problem in states that either have a history of race problems, or a state where there are major cities with large concentrations of blacks. They're not "scared" of the black man in Oregon, or Montana, or states such as those.

[oldpol]

7. I fully expect Rove & Company to replicate that ad in the South, especially Florida

I read something today that the 'Willie Horton' guy is already working on one

[Shoelace]

10. many voting "irregularities" in Tennessee in '06 and there will be more

since they will use Election Systems Software voting machines which are subject to viruses that flip votes in one fell swoop. It isn't just Tenn. affected either, these states use ES&S voting machines:

The states which use the ES&S iVotronic affected (with firmware versions either 8 or 9, with or without a so-called "Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail") are as follows:

Arkansas
Florida
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Missouri
New jersey
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
West Virginia
Wisconsin

Read more about this on Brad Blog here:

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4416

[TexasObserver]

12. high tech vote stealing is a very real problem for us in many states.

The GOP cheats. That is the primary election tool in national elections. They are always looking for ways to steal votes, to suppress Dem voters, and to create "counts" that exclude legit Dem votes.

I favor a paper ballot for all federal elections.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

21. GA in play but there are some real problems...

The 600,000 or so unregistered black voters
GA state law that requires Voter ID
The Diebold machines, which cost Cynthia McKinney her seat

If the Repugs are so confident that everyone agrees with them, then why are they so afraid to allow people to vote??!?!?? :shrug:

[Carrieyazel]

19. And what were those miscues? Most Tenn. Dems believed he ran as good a race

as he could have from start to finish.

[Carrieyazel]

18. Ford lost by 3 points, not 8. And the 'Playboy Party' ad's role is highly debatable.

That being said, Harold Ford was a very effective candidate, who did far better than many anticipated. Race played a big role, of course. But just think if Barack Obama had run in that 2006 race instead of Ford. Barack would have gotten torched by 20 points or more.

[cliffordu]

13. What you said. Precisely.

[BlooInBloo]

2. It largely depends on whether or not "good whites" allow the rest to get away...

with being racist. Or if, as is quite possible, "good whites" continue to silently acquiesce to the it's-not-racism-as-long-as-you-don't-say-nigger charade.

[oldpol]

4. most polls show that there is a diffrence between the polling & how swing voters will actually vote

the question is, how much and can O overcome it?

[papapi]

6. Racial Attitudes? Why not just call it what it is......

.....bigotry and hate.

[oldpol]

8. and the Rethug Natl Committee will do everything in their power to fan those racist attitudes

hopefully it will work less in Ohio & Pennslyvania

[grasswire]

9. I believe that's their ace in the hole

A race war. It would serve their purposes far too well.

Beware of provocateurs who will try to force blacks to be angry. Beware of incidents that fan the flames. That way lies a conflagration, and madness.

[oldpol]

11. but who besides Olberman and Rachel M will call them on it?

the media is practically braindead!

[grasswire]

14. the only way to stop it is to openly discuss the possibility

And that is the genius of their plan and the tragedy for the Obama candidacy. One can see their plan working now, right now. Nobody dares to talk about race. Any who question Obama are attacked as racist, despite their liberalism. Some Democrats call for two generations of white people to "die off" early. The seeds of the race war are sprouting.

It's really so simple for the bad guys to ignite this. All it takes is a couple of "incidents" by agitators.

And the only way to stop it is to talk about it openly.

Yet it can't happen on DU without attacks.

[Skidmore]

15. WE will call them on it and in front and in spite of the media.

Just like we have called the * administration on its crimes in front and in spite of the media for the past 8 years.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

16. Here's one black woman who is not that worried!

TURNOUT = OBAMA WIN!!!

I don't care what these polls or anyone says. The Bigot Vote will be diffused as more new voters are registered and actually vote. If we increase new voters, young voters and black voters to the polls, McSame doesn't have a chance.

I am thoroughly convinced that even a large majority of disaffected women voters for Clinton will come home to Obama. Unlike Dumbya, this man is truly a visionary; he's a uniter and we will all unite behind him once the wounds are healed.

I'm not worried about the bigots. Let them go to McSame. The Repug party thrives on the bigots anyway!

[oldpol]

20. you may be right we are so energized that it may not matter

from your lips to god's ears!

[MethuenProgressive]

17. "In interviews with 40 Pennsylvanians across three counties" We care about a poll of 40 people?

Might as well just poll FR or DU and announce concrete conclusions...