Frank Rich Was Right

I have been blogging ominously for months about American racism and how it could undercut Obama's lead in the polls come election day. I was wrong. Frank Rich was right. In his column today he claims his kudos--and he deserves them. I don't know what made him so sure but he's been saying our fears were exaggerated for months and so it proved.

The key statistic: a higher percentage of white men voted for Obama than for any Democrat since Jimmy Carter. That includes Bill Clinton. Couple that with Michael Sokolove's account of the transformation of Levittown, Pennsylvania into Obama territory and a lot of old 60's cynics like me really need to pause and wonder. In a way, reading the words of the men Sokolove interviewed, men who were overcoming a racial bias they were admitting to even as they pulled the lever, that was as inspiring as anything that happened last week.

And don't say it was all about the economy. More cynicism. Of course that was a huge factor, but not enough to "seal the deal" as they kept saying all through the primaries whenever Obama fell short. Wasn't that what was the matter with Kansas? That self-interest wasn't enough? What did seal the deal? Well, the men interviewed kept saying how smart Obama was and also how they just believed him. But I liked this one best: a man who had said right out that Obama's race was a problem and his name was a problem also said this when he was asked what it would be like to wake up in the morning with a black president-elect: "I do think it's an historic election. Part of me feels like it would be really cool."

That's uplift. That's reaching across, not an aisle, but a gulf. That's what sealed the deal.

Comments

[OtayPanky]

The Bradley effect is misnamed because there were confounding variables in the mismanagement of the Bradley campaign. It would be more accurately described as the Wilder effect. Anyone who thinks it doesn't exist is living in a pleasant delusion.

All this talk about there being no Bradley effect is really white code talk for saying thank goodness I don't have to deal with my persistent below the radar guilt feelings over residual racism in this country.

The McCain/Palin campaign will long be remembered as the worst in modern political history - and the verdict is already in that the Bush '43 presidency is the worst in history, period.

It was enough to get even white guys with more than a modicum of residual racism pulling the lever for the black guy.

But...If it had been white Barry O'Brian rather than black Barack Obama, is there any doubt that he would have beat the hapless McCain by 10-12% rather than 5-6% nationwide...or that it would have been a reagen-esque running of the table, state by state?

Let's get real, or let's not play, otay?

[editorjuno]

A generic "Barry O'Brian" would have won, but by a *smaller* margin than the actual Barack Obama -- you'd have to concoct a "Barry O'Brian" that had all the skills and appeal of the actual Barack Obama to gauge the role of race in the result, and guess what: there is no such person and never has been. This country hasn't produced a transcendent politician of Obama's caliber since FDR, and Obama is both brighter and much better educated than the last century's greatest American president. If he lives up to anywhere near his immense potential over the next four years, your "10-12%" will be a vast understatement in 2012, especially given the shallow pool of talent available to the tattered and discredited GOP.

[OtayPanky]

You make my point exactly.

If you held all other variables constant, but had a white guy of the same caliber as Barack, is there any doubt that he would have won by double digits?.

[momof3inGA]

Thomas -- This was a terrific read. Thank you for that.

[Pulemerci]

Two major factors led to Obama's historical victory;

1. His enormous war chest of $700 million dwarfed McCain's.

2. The national and global economic crisis gave him a major boost as the party in power was blamed for the situation.

[Doofus]

It should be noted that the $700 million came (mostly) from
a huge number of small donors, so it's as much an indicator
of underlying popular support as it is a source of cash.

As opposed to McCain, who evidently didn't.

You don't suppose the 'economic crisis' had anything to do
with bizarre financial maneuvers by the Bush administration,
such as doubling the national debt in 8 years?

[Gidster]

>Sarcasm light has been lit<

No it was a vast left wing conspiracy that timed the financial crash at a critical point in Obama's campaign.

Cleverly disguised as Republican led deregulation the Obama camp spent the last ten years setting this into play.

>End Sarcasm

[Doofus]

It's more interesting, arguably, that despite the fact that a majority
of white males voted for the Repo man, Obama WON ANYWAY.
Which implies the declining importance of the white, male
vote in American politics, evidently.

Admittedly, a higher percentage voted 'for' than in the past,
so this is certainly a favorable sign, but mainly it shows
the emerging power of 'everybody else' as a force
to be reckoned with.

Anyway, I count myself among the enlightened few,
with numbers too big to be ignored.

[MPeter]

Yeah!! I fell on the floor when Obama was called as the 44th Prez of the USA. Later in the night, I checked broadcasts from Sweden, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, France and Spain before I went to bed. American Democrats and citizens of these countries were so euphoric, it was uplifting. One American after another said that they were finally over, apologizing for being American! One woman even admitted that she had left the US after Bush became Prez!!!

Yeah, this feels good. Thank you America...now let's help Obama repair our country!!

[silverball]

it's hard to express how impressed i was throughout the campaign that obama was able to stay on message AND stay POSITIVE....his performance proved to be the real thing and he always came across as credible and believable....genuine....i think that over the campaign and the debates he convinced many of the doubters and critics that he was consistent and gave them the opportunity to believe....really unbelievable and i look forward to his governing for WE THE PEOPLE....it's been a long 8 years and we all deserve better....someone that we can believe is truly looking out for OUR best interests...not for the top 1%.....