CNN Poll: Race Will Not Be A Big Factor In Presidential Race

Sen. Barack Obama is in the twilight of a historic campaign to become the first black president in the history of the United States. For many people, there remain significant questions as to whether or not race or, more specifically, racism will turn out to be a factor in this presidential campaign that pits the Illinois Democrat against Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate. A CNN poll seems to indicate that race will not be as much of a factor as some people think. Here is a passage from the CNN story posted on the organizations Web site: “That 70 percent figure is up 9 points from July, when the same question was asked. Only 5 percent of those polled said race will be the single most important factor in their choice for president, with 11 percent saying it’s one of several important factors, and 13 percent indicating race will be a minor factor in their vote.” But, as we know, polls have to be looked upon with at least some degree of skepticism. People have been known to say one thing, in a poll, and then vote differently in the solitude of a voting booth. Some people call it the “Bradley Effect.” Here is a comment from Keating Holland, “First, don’t assume that everyone who says that race is factor in their votes are voting against Obama. Some voters are choosing Obama because of his race. And many of those who say that race will influence their votes are Republicans who were highly unlikely to vote for any Democrat this year. By one complicated measure, the number of votes Obama may lose due to his race is roughly equal to the number who will vote for him because he is black. And both those numbers appear to be small, possibly just 1 percentage point in each direction.” There is some truth in such statements. However, blacks have tended to vote Democrat in every presidential election in recent memory so it’s difficult to lock in on blacks who may be voting for Sen. Obama just because he is black. Now, if Sen. Obama was a Republican, then the argument becomes a little more intriguing since blacks largely vote against the Republican Party - almost regardless of the GOP candidate. We’d all like to believe that race will not be a factor in this election, but based on some of the racism we’ve already seen, the code words we’ve heard, the blatant anti-Muslim racism and more … count me as one who is skeptical.

CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/24/poll.race/index.html