Race Issue Looms in Election, With Sharp Divide in Some States

WSJ: Race Issue Looms in Election, With Sharp Divide in Some States
By JONATHAN KAUFMAN
June 6, 2008; Page A6

As the country prepares for the first general election pitting a black presidential candidate against a white candidate, race continues to be the wild card. Some argue that Barack Obama's background will hurt him among a sliver of voters, perhaps 10% or more, who say they take race into account. Others argue it may well be a benefit, boosting turnout and even insulating him from some criticism.

Sen. Obama has demonstrated his ability to draw support among whites. There was his surprise victory in the predominantly white Iowa caucuses; his string of victories in primaries and caucuses after Super Tuesday, many in largely white states; and the sight of 75,000 people, nearly all of them white, listening to him speak in Oregon.

But in states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and West Virginia, there was a sharp racial divide in voting, with blacks supporting Sen. Obama and whites favoring Hillary Clinton by big percentages. In those states, as many as 20% of voters said race played a role in their decisions. An April Wall Street Journal poll found that 13% of white voters nationally said race was an important factor or among the most important factors in their votes, and they overwhelmingly favored Sen. Clinton.

Some analysts contend that given the sharp political differences between Sen. Obama and Republican John McCain on issues such as the economy and the war in Iraq, questions of race will recede between now and November....Others argue that the injection of race is inevitable as Americans for the first time face the choice of electing a black man president....

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Sen. Obama has also drawn attention to a generational divide about race. Younger, more-educated white voters who grew up attending integrated schools and colleges and work in offices with black colleagues have flocked to Sen. Obama. For many of them, a vote for Sen. Obama is proof of the country's racial progress, and their own....

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121271038571350377.html

McCain isn't smart.

their power to make race THE issue in this campaign. The repukes are running on failed policies. Fanning the racial flames is the only thing they can do to try and keep this close enough to steal.

focuses much more on Obama being a Muslim and choosing a scimitar over a US Army career (see John McCain, war hero) I've just today asked one to permanently delete me from his email list, as well as his customer base, which hurts both of us, as he is the only local supplier in his trade, but I'm not anymore going to open my email in the mornings and be offended. And don't start me on "Republican Women for McCain" - Women should flock to Anybody-But-McCain!