Voters Still Divided Along Racial Lines
By Lee Bandy
SouthCarolina Insider
July 29, 2008 —
Does Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama have a problem with white voters? The headline on the front page of the July 16th New York Times seemed to suggest that he does. It read, “Poll Finds Obama’s Run Isn’t Closing Divide on Race.” The article beneath the headline observes that despite Obama’s candidacy, the results of a CBS/New York Times Poll show that the American society is still deeply divided along racial lines. Blacks and whites continue to hold divergent views about the state of race relations in the United States with whites far more optimistic than blacks. Moreover, white and black voters have dramatically different opinions about the nation’s first black presidential candidate. Black voters view Obama much more favorably than white voters. In fact, a plurality of white voters in the CBS/New York Times Poll had an unfavorable opinion of Obama. Political analyst Rhodes Cook found the poll results interesting. It should surprise no one, he said, that Obama’s victory has not altered the way blacks and whites view race relations in this country. Black voters have a much more positive opinion of a black presidential candidate than white voters “Anyone who was surprised by these findings hasn’t been following the news for the past 40 years,” said Cook. Generally, racial attitudes are based on people’s upbringing and life experiences, he noted. They don’t change overnight. And opinions about presidential candidates are based on longstanding and deeply held party loyalties and ideological orientation. Obama has a problem with white voters, as was shown in the exit polls. He trailed Hilliary Clinton by a wide margin among white voters. “So, does Barack Obama have a problem with white voters?” The answer is a resounding “yes.” The last Democratic candidate to win a majority of the white vote was Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Al Gore lost the white vote by 12 points in 2000. John Kerry lost it by 17 points in 2004. Obama is doing much better than Kerry and a little better than Gore. In fact, the only Democratic presidential candidates in the last four decades to have done better among white voters were Jimmy Carter in 1976 and Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996. Based on his current showing in the polls, Barack may well be the next one. With whites expected to comprise less than 80 percent of the 2008 electorate, and with a 20-1 margin among black voters, and a 2-to -1 margin among Hispanic voters, Obama’s current nine point deficit among white voters could translate into a decisive victory in November.
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