Race and the US Presidential race

The reason that he is not, I suspect, is racism. When polled, most older white voters overwhelmingly reject Obama, even if many of them are unhappy with Bush. Indeed, one-third of Democrats have at various times told pollsters that they will not vote for a black candidate. And a recent Associated Press/Yahoo News poll suggested that his race is costing Obama six percentage points in the polls.

Most of the time, this racism is covert, only hinted at through code words. The media, particularly the increasingly popular conservative media and talk radio, are particularly important here. Obama is consistently criticised for his "otherness" and his "arrogance," terms that call to mind the image of the "uppity nigger" from the days of segregation, which are actually not so far in America's past.