Racism Greater Factor Than Sexism On Super Tuesday
Barack Obama squeaked out a narrow win on Super Tuesday to expand his small lead in the pledged delegates. While many of the exit polls were off as predictions, these polls do provide us with one of the best national tests of to what extent voters will admit to racist or sexist motivations. And they also tell us an important fact: Obama was hurt by race-based voting, while Clinton was greatly helped by gender-based voting.
More Democratic voters admitted to racist motivations in opposing Obama (an average of 2.88% of the voters) than admitted to sexist motivations in opposing Clinton (an average of 1.83%). Overall, the racist vote outweighed the pro-black vote for Obama by an average of 0.5%. By contrast, the pro-woman vote for Clinton outweighed the sexist vote by an average of 5.0%. That's a 5.5% swing in each state. The continuing significance of racism (beyond the expressed levels of sexism) was a key factor in why Obama didn't win a decisive victory over Clinton on Tuesday.
The Democratic exit polls asked voters, "In deciding your vote for president today, was the gender[race] of the candidate a) The single most important factor; b) One of several important factor; c) Not an important factor."
The race-based voting data is summarized online in a spreadsheet I created. The gender-based voting data is in another spreadsheet of mine.
Here is the average of 15 states and the views on race of those opposing Obama (note, this is an average of the states, not an average nationwide):
2.87% Super racist (race is "the single most important factor," voted against Obama)
6.61% Partly racist (race is "one of several important factors," voted against Obama)
9.49% Total of racist vote (super racist plus partly racist)
Here's is the average of the voting based on race by Obama supporters:
2.0% Super pro-black (race is "the single most important factor," voted for Obama)
6.99% Partly pro-black (race is "one of several important factors," voted for Obama)
8.98% Total of pro-black vote (super pro-black plus partly pro-black)
Here is the average of the 15 states with exit polls on their response to the question of voting based, on gender, against the female candidate:
1.83% Super sexist (gender is "the single most important factor," voted against Clinton)
6.08% Partly sexist (gender is "one of several important factors," voted against Clinton)
7.9% Total of sexist vote (super sexist plus partly sexist)
To continue reading OffTheBus member John K. Wilson's post, visit his diary on Daily Kos. Wilson is the author of a new book, Barack Obama: This Improbable Quest.
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We don't KNOW how many whites VOTED for Obama,
we only know what they told the exit poller!
How many of US could honestly say if race or gender played a part in our votes? Racism and sexism are deep, mostly subconscious ideas and feelings.
These polls are worse the useless.
i wouldnt give this article a second thought... people vote for who they want in office no matter what the reason is... thats how its supposed to be... anyway...
It's racism if you are white and don't vote for Obama because he is Black.
So what is it if you are Black and you vote for Obama because he is also Black?
I am white and I voted for Obama in the CA primary.
I didn't vote against Hillary Clinton because she is a woman - I voted against her because she's Hillary Clinton.
Well it is irrelevant and not surprising.
But instead can we focus on the reality of Obama's campaign and his win? He won the Iowa caucus...a white state. He won a significant percentage of white males in SC.
Lastly on super tuesday he won the WHITEST states in the nation....
so this is a non-story because clearly the tide has changed and he is winning not as a consequence of minority vote but becasue of his character and intelligence.
Ultimately, I will not vote for Obama just because he is a black man. As inviting and tempting as it is. You see, every black man and woman in the USA knows that for Barack to stand before white folks and say "I want to be your President", he has to be someone special. He has got to get through us first. Why, because if he isn't qualified to stand and represent the best of Black America we will have no problem saying this brother ain't qualified. You will remember Al Sharpton didn’t have serious support from AAs, don’t you? What do you think all the questions about his blackness and upbringing were really about?! He had to come through us first!! Every AA man and woman knows that whoever stands in front of the larger population that he has to appeal to everyone, not just AAs'. Everyone, not blacks. Everyone! He can't be the black candidate, because immediately he is marginalized if he just caters to us, and he or she has to be better than most if not all of the competition. We all know this!
We understand his mission of being better than just being a one race candidate. He is the embodiment of what everyone wants. An intelligent, qualified man who has the potential to lead this country, and if AAs' see what they have wanted for there own children, that the belief that you can be President is a REAL possibility and not a myth, and vote for it when the first real chance presents itself in the 200 plus years of the history of the USA, then I will take whatever the hell I can get!!
Once again, excuse and forgive me for voting my belief, conscience, heart, intellect, and not my race when I see this special man.
hmmmm, Black people have been voting for say the last 60 years and I'm not sure, but it seems they have been voting for white males for quite a while...wh
Additionally, blacks/AAs' since having earned the right to vote via blood, sweat, tears, and death have voted for ALL of the white men that have occupied the Oval Office. Where in the history of the USA has a black man made it to the Whitehouse? Never!! So, why question AA's when they vote for Barack? Incidentally, no black man will make it to the Whitehouse without votes from the larger society. We are not fools and understand this clearly.
So, excuse and forgive me when I see an Ivy League educated AA with a Law Degree from Harvard, graduated Summa Cum Laude and was the first AA to be editor of Harvard Law Review, who is also an accomplished state legislator in Illinois, and a U.S. Senator.
Forgive me when I finally see an AA man who is every bit as qualified, educated, visionary, inspirational, and yes, I am going to say it... articulate as the rest of the field.
So, just for once that I see what this country can produce and put forth that speaks to me, just the same way Bush spoke to evangelicals, Hillary to women, and McCain to the war Hawks, can't I take notice and possibly vote my conscience, without the tinge of race?
No one questioned whites when they voted for Bush, Clinton, Bush 41, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Truman, Roosevelt, and etc.
I find it very interesting that there are quite a number of people complaining, ranting, and raving about blacks/afr
Think about this for moment. It was African-Americans (AA) who questioned Barack Obama’s qualifications from the beginning. It was AAs' who questioned his credentials, who is this black guy? We asked. It was AAs' who even questioned his blackness. How dare we question an obviously black man about whether or not he can pass the color test to be even considered black enough for black people? It was Black people who even questioned his motives, and even worried about his safety if he pursued this endeavor to the Whitehouse. Older black women clearly stated without equivocation that they were concerned that he would be killed in his attempts to become President.
Once again it was blacks who stated that we are solidly supporting a white woman, Hillary Clinton. This is well known and documented that even her husband who is born white was bestowed with being the first black president, even before an actual AA could be elected. Go figure!!
Is anybody surprised? America is capable of holding on to its biases steadfastly for CENTURIES!
right on. in a nation that preserves and hoards racism like precious jewels..is it any wonder that everything that transpires in america is tinged with racism?the most mindboggling thing about good ole american racism...i
it's irrelevant in the long run that people choose their candidate for some pretty stupid reasons, what matters to us all is the final effect of a prejudice that is almost impossible to measure because what percentage of people are willing to admit a prejudice?
the polls in New Hampshire were a case in point -- totally wrong because the prejudice against a black couldn't be measured.
if there were a political science we would be able to measure it and determine whether Hillary or Obama stood the best chance of being elected.
because, don't we mostly agree, that while we might prefer one or the other, the most important objective is replacing Republicans in the white house?
Accepting this, what can we do but apply our best people to the analysis, getting a best GUESS, and then probably ignoring it so we can proceed with our best effort to do what is right?
I mean, I'm for Obama, and unless I saw real hard evidence that he couldn't be elected because of the color of his skin, rather than the content of his character, I am going to do whatever I can for him.
This is a poll of Democrats only.
Wonder how the country as a whole would report?
Also, is any of this statistically significant?
What is the mathematical analysis of this data?
Will someone explain to me how Obama is 'Black?' His Dad is a black African and his Mom is a white American. Does the fact that his dad is black make him 'Black?' What about the white part of his mom? If his dad were white and his mom were black would he still be 'Black' or would he be 'White?' Besides, don't it seem time for us to move beyond the Black vs White nonsense? How about if we can be just people of the Earth? Kelvin Sampson is coach of Indiana University but I hear noone tout him being Native American. When Mike Davis became coach everyone tripped all over themselves mentioning he was black. Time for a rethink me thinks.
I agree with you completely. I have hoped for a long time that we get past the black/white issue. We are human being who happened to have different back ground and skin color.
It is based on several hundred years of history. Legally, you were considered black if you had "one drop" of black blood.
Right. Arianna tells us to Say No To Polls and you really believe that people are actually going to admit to some stranger why they voted the way they did.
Next!
If by sexism you mean that women will vote for Hillary because she is a woman ,without regard to her past record or policies.
The few Hillary supporters I have spoken with (where are they?) are voting for Hillary because they are women and she is a women.That is there only reason for supporting Hillary.
I will vote for the candidate most likely to uphold Freedom and improve the lot of Average Americans and will stop the giveaway to big corperations.
We have two great candidates for the Presidency. The first viable woman & the first viable african-american. One of them will be our next President. It's a shame that we have to choose which one will make history first.
America is being measured and tested!
The eyes of the world are watching to see if racism holds sway, or, if America has evolved into a politically mature civilized nation!
People can pretend that racism doesn't play a large part in all this, but it's there, bubbling away beneath the surface, as potentially destructive as the Yellowstone Caldera!
Draem on...while Obama has done fairly well among white males, his showing among white women is more that sisterly solidarity. Women are the conduits of culture and racism passes through the umbilical. It is indispatable that Racism is in the American DNA and this election will show how many have been innoculated against bigotry (besides white males).
it's going to be age, not gender, that sends Obama through. The emergence of the young (male and female) vote will be the final story of this election..
obamas main detractors as is already being shown...ar
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