I blogged on this issue yesterday -- and a GOP leader's claim that John McCain will have a big edge on Obama because of the rae-based vote in November. It drew a wide and varied response from readers. Some claimed that Clinton suffered from gender bias, or pointed out that Obama was getting 85% of the black vote. Others objected to bringing up this issue at all, or praised me for doing so.
Long before that, I had suggested that many understate the number of older Democrats who are (still) racist and who would tip many contests to Clinton. But I closed yesterday's post by saying that if Obama won or came close in Pennsylvania that might put the issue to rest.
Didn't happen. And the exit polls show, again, that one in four Clinton voters claim they would not vote for Obama in November -- for whatever reason. And she got 70% of the white, blue-collar vote in most regions, including the area of central Pennsylvania where I spent a lot of time growing up and heard many a racist remark.
Here's the money quote from a New York Times analysis of the exit polls: "Sixteen percent of white voters said race mattered in deciding who they voted for, and just 54 percent of those voters said they would support Mr. Obama in a general election; 27 percent of them said they would vote for Mr. McCain if Mr. Obama was the Democratic nominee, and 16 percent said they would not vote at all."
And once again, the old phenomenon of exit polls proven wrong, because people with racist views do not tell pollsters the truth on election day, again reared its head. The final exit polls today indicated only a 4% Clinton win. Now it looks like 10%. That difference is largely the racial vote, I'd guess. I call them the true "late deciders" -- they decide to show their bigotry in the privacy of the voting booth.
Tim Russert reported tonight that the GOP in North Carolina is now going to play the race card against Obama in primary ads there, which can only help Clinton.
Anyway, I will leave it at that -- you guys and gals go at it, and thank you for that. As I've said before, I am just putting this all out there, not to suggest, at all, that Obama should not or can not be the nominee. Let's just say that I am very sensitive to the continuing problems of race and racial prejudice in society.
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Greg Mitchell's new book is So Wrong for So Long: How the Press, the Pundits -- and the President -- Failed on Iraq. It is the first five-year history of the war, has been hailed by Bill Moyers, Glenn Greenwald, and Arianna Huffington, and features a preface by Bruce Springsteen.
Read more reactions from Huffington Post bloggers to the Pennsylvania Primary
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I did not see evidence of a gender bias insofar as there was comparable Clinton vote across all demographi
There IS, as Mr. Mitchell points out, a huge racial bias -- blacks vote for Obama. No surprise. (Even amongst those blacks who say race did NOT matter to them. Riiiiight.
This observatio
I would note that it appeared blacks vote black to a much greater degree than women vote woman.
To get really silly about it, if you give BACK to Obama the whites who won't vote black, and take AWAY the blacks who would have voted Hillary if either she were black or Obama were white, and then, GIVE Hillary some points for all the men who would otherwise have voted for her if she were male.
Where would the final tally stand? Lord knows.
They didn't vote for the better person, they voted to try to make history.
In November, we can only hope that the stars will align and a majority of voters will pick the better person (and coincident
So, what have you done for the US of KKK in your miserable whitebread nonexisten
To the best of my knowledge, he has won mostly in caucause states, but falls short in primaries except in a couple.... The polls have also been right w/ the caucauses as well, but can't be trusted w/ primaries anymore... In a way Geraldine might be right, when she said Obama has only been able to come thus far, because he is "black" - Anyway, these are just my thoughts, please I don't intend to offend anyone and I am very sorry if you find this post offensive - My bad....
Barack is clearly the more liberal of the two candidates and the activists who show up to caucuses are more liberal and outraged over the Bush administra
Some primaries have shown similar propensiti
My guess is that caucuses reward more "evangelic
Obama is trying real hard to reach out to those who don't feel much empathy for him. Though his overtures to the PA working class fell a little flat, I can see the sincere effort he made to connect with those voters, who on the surface are so unlike himself, but on the other hand, as Americans, they've got plenty in common with Obama in this election. Obama no doubt learned something, once again, from the bitter gaffe--tha
Obama will continue reaching out, and that he's gotten this far shows that he's breaking down the racial barrier more than we've seen in awhile. Obama has still been able to stay pretty positive through it all. Hillary is at her best when she smiles, when she turns on her good nature, her very good sense of humor, and she's smart, and yes, she does have experience that comes with her years of service. Just wish we could see more of her sunny side; the negative campaignin
Still, it seems to me that Hillary is taking more gender-rel
I dare say America seems more at ease with his blackness than her womanhood.
Stuart's "Random Thoughts" blog
Same for misogyny.
I bet there are more men who won't vote for Hillary than whites who won't vote for Obama.
Today we've got McSAME arguing that the response to gender pay discrimina
"I admire him because I've always known this guy was going to get somewhere because he MARRIED UP just like I MARRIED UP!"
This is a strunning statement considerin
Let me parse it for you. When he says he, "married up", it has nothing to do with money or education. It is about character. He means his wife is a better person than he is. It is a complement to his wife.
I'm betting you are really grateful to Clinton for giving you a reason to believe that, "Obama is predudiced against you!" Before it was just that you would never vote for a person of color in a million years. Now you have right on your side. Am sure irony goes right over your head. I am really rather ashamed of myself because i am sure you can not help it. (This IS an insult.)
What is truly "psycholog
If you're going to attempt to make rational decisions in an irrational world,very large bowl of bran fiber, followed by a colonic, concluding with bowl of rationalit
Ya think ole Hillary is vetted?
Check-out , if you dare, just some of what the rethugs have in mind for her in the fall Now Playing on UTUBE:
Hillary Clinton;Th
Or that 12 Part Series; Bill & Hillary Clinton: Their Secret Lives
Vetted? I think not
Look, most politicall
It is a logical fallacy (and personally offensive) to posit that because Obama enjoys 90% support among blacks, blacks have no objectivit
Blacks have historical
Black vote in two elections? Numbers can be slanted to prove almost any point that one choose.
Regarding the Bosnia lie, Hillary said she made a mistake because it was late and she was tired.
Tim Russert brought up a clip showing her telling the same lie at 3:00 in the afternoon.
Obama has to get tough, or Hillary will win. Then McCain will get tough and beat Hillary.
Obama’s new theme should be:
“IF SHE’LL LIE TO THE PEOPLE AT 3:00 P.M.,
SHOULD SHE BE ANSWERING THE WHITE HOUSE PHONE AT 3:00 A.M.”