Comments on: Gallup: Obama Up By 11

By: Regis

Regis — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 22:01:03 +0000

While eleven points is great, until it gets to twenty or so, I will not be comfortable. A lot of the those indicating support for Obama will chicken out when it is time to mark the ballot. There are folks not wanting to show racial bias to a pollster and to be branded who are racist even if they do not know it. They will find one excuse or another to avoid voting for Obama. He will be too liberal, or have terrorist friends, or be against victory in Iraq, or his wife hates America or one thing or another.

Frankly, at this late date, the undecideds are either clueless or have a racial bias. In either case, put about 90% of them in the McCain camp.

By: mike mcEachran

mike mcEachran — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 21:06:54 +0000

Joe: “Mike, are you basing your conclusions on anything concrete? Keep in mind Obama is not Black, but BIRACIAL. Also, there are plenty of forms of racism. Many â€œracistâ€ Whites have no problems with other races, for instance – they just donâ€™t like people of certain skin color. You could be anti-Semitic and still vote for Obama.”

Agreed, I’m limiting my remarks to include the definition of racism where cultural dominance is required – white dominating black (you can’t make that argument for Jews, or Asians – maybe you can for Hispanics…)

There is no doubt that a black President was unthinkable in 1968, and that the cultural advantage has shifted demonstrably toward non-racist people. Yes, of course there will always be bigotry, but real racism as defined by Websterâ€™s requires “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial difference produce an inherent superiority of a particular race”. For racism to have any power – it requires that one race actually have the cultural upper-hand (superiority). With a black President (for the first time), that cultural upper-hand is greatly diminished if not shattered. So, my point is bigotry will always exist, but the exercise of racism – one cultural or racial clan dominating another – is on its last leg. Amen!

By: Pico

Pico — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 21:05:02 +0000

Looks like the Ayers smears aren’t working

By: mike mcEachran

mike mcEachran — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:34:33 +0000

It was called “passing” (Jeter).

By: Reid

Reid — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:25:00 +0000

He is mixed . his grandparent brought him up. thats why he behave like white . no disrespect to black coz am black. you can compare him to jesse jackson and see what i mean

By: Jimmy the Dhimmi

Jimmy the Dhimmi — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:17:28 +0000

The whole concept of black and white in this country is founded on a horrible arbitrary standard that emerged from the African slave trade. Your appearance could distinguish you from your masters, so discrimination could linger even after slavery ended. Immigrants from Europe were ethnically segregated from each other and faced discrimination when they first got here 100-150 years ago, but through the generations, they dropped their accents, changed their names and blended together to become the “white race.” Blacks always looked black.

So that is how I define it. It is stupid and irrelevant, but if people insist on keeping race an issue, then that is how we should address it. If you look black then you are black. What restroom would you use in 1930′s Alabama? Which end of the bus would you ride in? Sorry Tiger Woods, you are not a “Cablanasian” – you are black. Derek Jeter is white =P.

By: leighg1

leighg1 — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:17:02 +0000

WOW! I am speechless. Does that have anything to do with Palin’s baseless attacks? Way to go!

By: Joseph

Joseph — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:10:58 +0000

Mike, are you basing your conclusions on anything concrete? Keep in mind Obama is not Black, but BIRACIAL. Also, there are plenty of forms of racism. Many “racist” Whites have no problems with other races, for instance – they just don’t like people of certain skin color. You could be anti-Semitic and still vote for Obama.

The sort of thinking that declares racism dead when we elect a Black president is the same sort of thinking that thinks terrorism will vanish when Al-Qaeda disappears.

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:53:45 +0000

Not sure the fact that his mother is white is likely to assuage the racist vote…in this country (unlike, say Brazil), the “one drop of blood” notion still holds sway with people, and the experience of someone who is “half black” is pretty much the same as for someone who’s “all black” (whatever that means). Barack Obama is black.

Having said that, the fact that his mother and the grandparents who raised him are white probably does do something to reassure older white voters, not for any crackpot racial/genetics reason, but rather because he can point to his upbringing in a way that reassures them that he was raised with the middle-America/Kansas values they want to see in a presidential candidate.

So, no…the bigots won’t be swayed. But some older white voters might be less likely to worry that he is somehow “weirdly different” in his thinking.

By: James

James — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:40:25 +0000

We may yet reach MLK’s dream that a person will not be judged by the color of his/her skin, but by the strength of his/her character. Obama is living out “the urgency of now.”

James

By: Helen

Helen — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:36:03 +0000

I don’t understand why a poll about what politician people want to vote for in the middle of a world/national crisis is in any way reflective of racism. It’s too simplistic, doesn’t define what qualifies as racism adequately, and lets not forget that these people just say they are ‘planning on voting for blah blah’ that doesn’t mean they will. People could be in denial or covering up their racism with lies about how much they love Obama. Another example of speaking softly, but carrying a big stick.

By: dee

dee — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:18:17 +0000

I hate when Barack is labled as the “black” candidate, his mother was lighter skinned than me and I hardly get any sun… Do you think that people took that into consideration if for some f*cked up reason they were planning on voting based on a person’s race? The fact that his mother was white is helping with the racist vote? I’m just asking.

By: mike mcEachran

mike mcEachran — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:07:34 +0000

A lot has changed since 1968 when Bobby Kennedy predicted that we could have a black president within 40 years. Spooky, huh? We can say with certainty that at least 52% Amercans are not racist, and presume that a large portion of the remaining 48% are also not racist. That is a far cry from the segregationism and silent tolerance of racism of the 60s. The kids growing up today are going to experiece a totally different country growing up than I did. Pretty freakin cool.

By: Jimmy the Dhimmi

Jimmy the Dhimmi — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:41:32 +0000

So much for this supposedly racist country we live in.