race in the Big Race

So far in this race for the White House we have seen a woman almost become a presidential nominee, and now we have the first black man to not only run for the presidency with the possibility of winning, but also to become the Democratic presidential nominee. But we have to ask ourselves, even though most Americans seem to welcome the fresh face and race of the nominee, what role will Obama’s race really play in the election? A recent poll organized by Stanford University proposed that the percentage of American voters who may turn away from Obama because of his race could be larger than that of the margin of victory in the 2004 election.

As the margin of victory becomes slimmer with each modern election, any slight discrepancy in the voters’ minds can determine the difference between a win or loss, especially for Obama. A recent AP-Yahoo News poll found that one-third of white Democrats harbor negative views toward blacks. As much as we would hope that the election is based on policy, experience, diplomacy and character, we have to accept the fact that race still plays a vital role in American society. Experts state that republicans are not denying Obama their votes because he is black; they are simply turned off by the fact that he is a democrat.

So where does the race card come in to play? Independent voters and questioning democrats will easily decide this election. Studies found that Obama’s ratings over McCain would be 6 percent higher if there were no apparent white racial prejudice; a racial prejudice that is apparent in his own party. But Obama’s race card has two sides: regardless of the number of voters that are turned off by his race, just as many could cast their vote strictly based on the fact that he is black. Obama has almost unanimous support from the black population, and we would be ignorant to think that this is because of his policies and qualifications.

We claim to be a nation based upon equality and justice for all, but are we really? We may not ever know what goes through a voter’s mind when he casts his ballot, but speculations will be looming regardless of the outcome. This is the biggest and perhaps final test for black Americans wondering if the racial divide has actually closed, and only time will tell.

 

Sources: http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-09-20-Poll-Obama_N.htm