Race Remains A Factor For Some Voters In Obama Re-Election Battle

The New York Times:

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio -- This is the land of die-hard Democrats -- mill workers, coal miners and union members.

Read the whole story: The New York Times

Comments

[Promano]

07:10 AM on 05/06/2012

Once again we are playing the race card- it's not race- It's America is just sick and tired of being sick and tired of the Hope & Change that never came

[tartinc]

09:43 PM on 05/05/2012

Wow, a discussion on racism! Is it real? Yes. Why does it exist? Because we evolved from a species were the natural instinct was survival of the fittest. The strongest male produces the best offspring. He would remain dominent over the females of the herd until defeated in competition by age and the next strongest male. We still have remnants of that instinct today, but with the added factor of intellect. Because of your environment, you have developed greater war skills and take control of people with a different skin color. Do you teach them what you know adding to the competition for your position of authority or do you proclaim yourself superior over all of the other color eliminating them as a challenger based on skin color alone? Racism is born. More and more people of intellect are seeing the folly in this, but there are those so desperate to cling to an tmaginary position on an imaginary ladder that using race gives them actual comfort. The kicker is that no one born contributed the slightest iota of input on what race they would be!

[den1953]

10:27 AM on 05/05/2012

Want to freak out a racist tell them the truth we all came from a tribe in Africa a long time ago!

[smartcindy]

02:32 AM on 05/05/2012

Racism is dying out, it passes with the generations dying, like a giant escalator, (which is inevitable), and education, travel, technology, work for equal pay outside the home, gatherings outside the church, (which are all something the Repubs are trying to stop...)

[PatrickforO]

01:54 AM on 05/05/2012

I am sorry, but those voters for whom 'race is still a factor' need to GET OVER IT. We are all Americans, and Obama is OUR president. WE elected him, and we need to be behind him. If these racists could actually clear the hatred and fear out from between their collective ears, and be objective, they'd see Obama hasn't done a bad job at all. He's not NEARLY the devil he's painted to be.

Try looking at the facts: we just had our 26th month of consecutive private sector job growth. GM is back on top. Bin Laden's dead. We're out of Iraq. We have national healthcare legislation that isn't perfect but it's a whole lot better than what we had before. Our daughters and granddaughters have better recourse now, in the face of pay discrimination, which is no joke over a 45 year career.

Sure, the guy isn't perfect, but to hold him in such disdain is unAmerican! Think of what we COULD have accomplished if Newt and the other TPers hadn't decided to oppose Obama on EVERYTHING, no matter what it is.

[Urcbub]

01:43 AM on 05/05/2012

but the tea party said race had nothing to do with it... I mean they told me...

[3dtrix]

10:29 PM on 05/04/2012

Race is a VERY important factor for me in the upcoming presidential election - I firmly require that the candidate who gets my vote be a member of the human race.

Sorry, GOP...

[gladys46]

09:32 PM on 05/04/2012

"Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half-truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, we must see the need of having non-violent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men to rise from the dark depts of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood." MLK Letter From A Birmingham Jail, 1963
......

Obama/Biden 2012!!

[PatrickforO]

01:59 AM on 05/05/2012

I love the Letter from Birmingham Jail. It is the best manifesto of civil disobedience I've ever read. Here's one of my favorite passages from it:

"We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed."

It was Martin Luther King, Jr. and many others who bled in the streets for the rights of all Americans that made it possible for Obama to get the nomination of his party, run, be duly elected and take office.

[gladys46]

11:54 AM on 05/05/2012

Yes, yes ... and, we go FORWARD with President Obama's well reasoned, well thought out policies!!

[gladys46]

09:11 PM on 05/04/2012

As an African American, I don't judge white people by their skin color!!!!

[3dtrix]

10:26 PM on 05/04/2012

Sure you do - you judge them to be white - and you are correct.

The character stuff is harder to see...

[barefootcountrygirl]

04:52 PM on 05/05/2012

I don't judge black people by their skin color, either! People, are all wonderful creations of God.

[tartinc]

07:44 PM on 05/05/2012

Hey, I love you so stop scaring me with this "People are all wonderful creations of God" stuff. What exactly do you mean by wonderful?

[Royce09]

05:13 PM on 05/04/2012

Wow Steubenville Ohio is Paul Crocett's hometown, I wonderful if Obama paid his respect to this great man. Better known as Dean Martin.

[treadway123]

07:10 PM on 05/04/2012

Thos white people who were raised in the poor part of town, are not a bit surprise at this. They kind of grew up with black people an don't look at the color so much as judge by what the person IS or HOW they behave. Yet if your not raised around those of color, you will hear constant slur's, bigotry, Racist comment that their folks have taught from one generation of families to the next.

[Royce09]

11:09 AM on 05/05/2012

I remember growing up in the deep south in the 50's in Chattanooga, Tn and my family was so poor we apparent lived in the black part of town, because at 5 or 6 yrs old, I remember my playmates (along with my sister and brother) were 3 little black children. We played for hours on end, most in the dirty with rocks and sticks pretending they were cars, houses or toy soldiers but they were the best toys in the world for us at that moment because we didnt know we were poor or suppose to dislike each other because the color or our skin. We were just play mates having fun.

Later after i got older and moved back to the white side of town, I never could understand the hatred for black people and the racsims that was normal in the 50's. I usppose now in hindsite i was very lucky and blessed to be around those black children who taught me, they were just like me and I was just like them , I still feel this way today even in my 60's

[seegray]

05:08 PM on 05/04/2012

Ya gotta love the assumptions made by some people:
"Black people voted him in, that’s why he won. It was black ignorance.”....ignoranceexcuseme?

[treadway123]

07:12 PM on 05/04/2012

I bet your pardon! I hope your just jousting with us, right? Your mocking those who think only black people voted for Obama?

[seegray]

07:36 PM on 05/04/2012

I should have been more specific, Treadway....sorry. That was a quote from the actual article. Read it from the link up above if you have a chance....these people are simply amazing.

[obamalover123]

10:17 PM on 05/04/2012

All races voted for obama in 2008 just like all races will vote for obama in November. So stop with your hatred and jealousy.

[demimckingwoodtx]

05:06 PM on 05/04/2012

As many Caucasians that I have had no choice but to vote far I have never judged them by their color but by their actions as the POTUS. That's why I Have never vote for a republican!

[gladys46]

09:16 PM on 05/04/2012

Hear, hear!!!

[obamalover123]

10:23 PM on 05/04/2012

I love smart people demimckingwoodtx. I'm going to fan and fav you.

[Rubius Hagrid]

04:27 PM on 05/04/2012

He's a white african american though right?

[paulthamec]

05:06 PM on 05/04/2012

Yeah he is half.

[Robert Blair 1]

05:42 PM on 05/04/2012

So what??????????????

[obamalover123]

10:25 PM on 05/04/2012

so maybe the intelligent people can like the blackandwhite side and the tbaggers can like the white side, then we'll be o.k.

[Absolute]

04:22 PM on 05/04/2012

Virtually no black people are surprised by this. We saw this coming in 2008. It's important to note that millions of white people voted for the president. It may be even more important to remember that many of the people who did NOT vote for him didn't do so because of his race.

There are still way too many bigots, but they're in the minority.

[barefootcountrygirl]

05:00 PM on 05/05/2012

You mean to say that many of the people who didn't vote for him didn't because of his race? You mean a large portion of those who didn't vote or a few? I bet lots were of a different political affiliation and vote straight GOP, like many Democrats vote straight Demo. How many voted for him BECAUSE of his race? ? Interesting ...

[bizzaro birdman]

04:06 PM on 05/04/2012

"It's because he's black"

Yes, that's why he was elected in 2008. Glad you finally came to terms with it.

[Janicot]

05:26 PM on 05/04/2012

I was a Hillary supporter. I voted for Obama because he was the eventual Democratic candidate, not because he's black but neither would that have been a deterrent.

[chicks63]

07:30 PM on 05/04/2012

Same here. People are surprised when I tell them I voted for Hillary Clinton but I will never regret voting for Barack Obama.

[barefootcountrygirl]

05:01 PM on 05/05/2012

I was not a Hillary supporter. I said if she were elected, I'm move to Canada.