What Do Whites Want? Why The Papers Are Getting The Race Polls Wrong

So many race polls, so little insight.

Today's sober NY Times poll on the presidential election and race relations comes to the very same conclusions that the wacky Washington Post poll -- which turned into a game of "White People: So You Think You're Not Racist?"-- found last month: Blacks really love Obama and whites kinda like McCain.

Good work, fellas!

The Obama campaign hit back hard this morning, saying basically, "Hey! A lot of whites other than his grandma actually like him. And Michelle, too."

White liberals like Bill Scher back them up. Scher notes that although Obama trails McCain by 9 points, he is running much better among whites than John Kerry did in 2004, especially among working-class whites.

The Times headline --"Obama's Run Isn't Closing Divide On Race" -- is only half-right. In fact, the race polls on the race show that he may be running well enough among whites to secure enough votes to win. Why is the press not getting this?

Partly because, again big surprise, it's stuck in the past. Since the pivotal 1968 election, when Richard Nixon and George C. Wallace turned racial backlash into a Republican majority, the partisan divide has largely been a reflection of racial divide. Just as demagoguery on civil rights put African-Americans in the blue column, demagoguery on immigration has put Latinos and Asian Americans there for decades to come.

In 2008, another demographic shift is on. Obama's coalition could forge a new majority, one rooted in large part by racially progressive, not reactionary, politics. The MSM is still very late to the game here.

Instead they have conflated two huge stories in these polls. The first story is whether or not Obama is leading in the race for the presidency. Here the evidence points solidly to a new majority.

The second is what does the race for the presidency say about race? This is an aspirational story. News editors are making the same leap that many people of color have been making. (Which is not, in my opinion, a bad decision, even from the business/publishing side.)

They are jumping to this question: Would the election of Barack Obama improve race relations?

In both polls, whites are loudly saying, "No." Very few in the MSM have yet thought to ask, "Why?"

But there's where your real story is.

Originally published at Vibe.com.

This Jeff Chang is the author of Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation and editor of Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip-Hop, not the Taiwanese balladeer.

Follow Jeff Chang on Twitter: www.twitter.com/zentronix

Comments

[Yola]

The MSM is in this for the ratings and they are targeting Obama; they avoid discussing McCain's flip flops, tax issues, dirty and inappropriate jokes and him being 2 steps behind Obama on every issue. Obama is not just running against McCain he is also running against the media. If he wins, it will be no thanks to MSM but if McCain wins he should send most of these so called journalists flowers and candy because they have been in bed with him since the very beginning.

[shel3364]

This white person wants a president who isn't a buffoon.
This white person wants a president who talks to me like I'm an adult.
This white person wants a president who understands the geography of today.
This white person wants a president with good judgement.
This white person wants a president who understands what the "little peple" are going through.
This white person wants a president who doesn't pander.
This white person wants a president who'll finish Iraq and help our troops in Afghanistan.
This white person wants a president who doesn't tool around their state in a private jet.
This white person wants a president who respects women and their choices.
This white person wants a first lady who's "been there".
This white person wants a change.
This white person wants a President Obama.

[repearwo]

This white person thinks you are white on target!!

[heal57]

White on, you cwazy wabbit!

[drkazmd65]

Pretty much sums up my wants as far as the next President,­...

signed
*a very white male born & raised in Indiana, who lived in KS for about a decade afterwards*

[HBeachbum]

And then Obama can lord over all 57 states.

[dagnew]

ME TOO!

[Waitaminute]

This black person agrees with this white person.

[Nommo]

Why wonder why? If the nag has never finished in the money, don't you look stupid betting on it? Black people have always had to live despite white people. We can't afford not to ever "get it". Barack Obama will be just fine, whatever the hell happens. Just like the brother in "Night of The Living Dead".

[mc]

I'll tell you what this white person wants: someone intelligent in the White House. That would be Obama.

[sodisenchanted]

When are the Republicans going to get it that the little people are finally figuring out that it's not black against white against brown, It's rich against poor. I'm hoping we've smartened up and won't get fooled by their racist BS again. I'm a middle-aged white woman from Texas and I'm voting for Obama.

[undrgrndgirl]

it ain't rich against poor - its the ULTRA-rich against everyone else...