Could his race cost Obama the election?

This sums it up for me.

I don’t know. It seems like Obama will win. People aren’t as racist anymore

@kevbo—is that a new kind of material?
:)

It has always baffled me WHY this election is so close?? How much more Republicans should trash the country that it convinces people to give a chance to a Democrat? This might be the answer…

I think the 1/3 of white Democrats that have “some sort of negative view toward blacks” have a negative view of stereotypical blacks. Clearly, the very educated and well-spoken Barack Obama defies these stereotypes, so such people don’t view him as an [N-word]. I’ve heard people say, “I don’t have a problem with blacks; I have a problem with [N-words].”

I thought this story is interesting.

I am becoming more and more impressed by Obama and want him as my President. I am afraid that there is a lot of hidden and even overt racism still in America that will impact the election.

His speech today at Bethune Cookman College in Daytona Beach was very solid and practical and real and laid out the differences between him and his opponent in a way that I think can put him over the top..

Pixel: Do you want to rethink your answer, click on kevbo’s link. Unfortunately there is a significant number of people who are openly racist and proud of their ignorance. Even more unfortunately there are a significant number of people who recognize racism is wrong but they justify their racism by claiming it is about “inexperience” or “elitism”. This is as untenable as overt racism because they are willing to vote against their own best interests by electing the 3 decade insider who has been at the root of every major economic disaster brought about by deregulation since he supported Keating in the savings and loan catastrophe that cost taxpayers $50 billion in the 80’s. That’s McCain’s “experience.

RE:Kevbo’s link. You know what scares me? This people vote. Yes, you can vote for whomever you want to, but voting is a priviledge as well as a right. Is it to much to ask that people take even a small amount of time or interest to research, or hell, even read about the candidates before they trot down to the polls? My personal opinion is that the people who posted this sign could most likely be poster children for why cousins are not allowed to get married. Side note- I had a muslin jacket once – it looked pretty good on me!

Unfortunately (from my point of view, anyway), the answer is yes. I couldn’t possibly have answered it better than @kevbo did with his picture, but let me go on a bit…

I am completely flummoxed by the nearly perfect 50–50 split in this country between Democrats and Republicans, in election after election with candidates as varied as Al Gore and Dan Quayle.

The explanation must be some subconscious process involving the media’s need to be (or at least appear) objective, giving equally positive coverage to both parties’ candidates, no matter how doddering or inexperienced or hard-nosed or pandering they may “objectively” be. People watching their teevees see Mr. News Person treating a light-weight like Sarah Palin with the same deference as a life-long professional public servant as her running mate and assume that she must be serious business, because Mr. News Person seems to think so.

Ironically, about the only place you’ll see reportage that does not give equal treatment to light-weights and real statesmen (and women) is Comedy Central, where idiotic behavior is called out and genuine public service is taken seriously.

There is a current question on fluther about making voting mandatory. Although I teach my Civics students they have a duty to vote and encourage them to take election day off to be poll workers, I would not encourage people who are too feckless or mentally unsound (or who don’t know the difference between a religion and a textile) to vote, let alone force them to vote.

@dland, I’ve noticed the exact same thing, and completely agree with you on every point. Therefore, I won’t write it again in my own words.

God, I hope not.

In a close election, race could be a bigger factor than many of us would like to believe. Sometimes I wonder, when people say that Obama is “arrogant,” whether they don’t mean that he is an “uppity nigger.”

On the other hand, I feel good that race has not been brought up as much as I feared it would be, so I think we are getting less racist as a country. I’ll be so glad when America has had a black President and a woman President so that these things will be less of an issue, the way that Catholicism has been less of an issue since John Kennedy served. I wonder if I’ll live long enough.

On the other hand yet, both the Kerry/Bush and the Gore/Bush elections were very close, so why should we be surprise that this one is going to be close, too?

Evidently it is endemic and doesn’t have to be brought up. There was a poll just released that said 30% of white Democrats stated they have negative feelings about black Americans. (MSNBC) Having winessed the damage racism has caused over the last 60 years, this makes me ill. I have to admit willful ignorance is a greatest danger we have to face in this country.

At the Texas Republican Party’s convention there were buttons asking, “If Obama Is President… Will We Still Call It the White House?”.

( source:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/m.s.-bellows/obama-rapid-response-ad-s_b_127636.html )

Oh, that is just reprehensible!

my god. you know when your parents catch you doing something terrible, and they’re like “we’re not mad… we’re disappointed.” well, I’m disappointed in Texas. wtf.

Probably hehehehe 6/l/09