Quote Originally Posted by Ran
You have to understand that it's not just the candidates personal convictions, but also in how he/she is perceived by the population. While Obama may actually make a fine president, the general population would round him up with both racially biased black people and the "evil terrorist" Muslims. A government without the general people is nothing.

Allow me to introduce you to 70% of America. lol

Again, I'm not trying to come off as racist or religiously biased, but that is how the majority of the population responds whether we like it or not.
Agreed, I could go on and on about this.. (its going to sound crazy that I analyze this stuff) but if you look at the demographics of the states that Obama struggles with.. they are states that had Jim Crow laws. (ex. Blacks cannot attend the same school as whites)

States like Kentucky, West Virginia, etc were very reluctant to give up these laws until the Civil Rights Act passed in 1964, only 44 years ago. Lyndon Johnson essential forced these states to do away with racist laws but that does not mean the effects didnt linger in the minds of people.

Now.. what is Obama's demographic in the white community, 40 and younger educated whites ESPECIALLY in states that never had slavery or racially biased laws. Why can Obama gain 76% of the vote in Idaho or handily win in Iowa where whites make up 97% of the population? It is because they were never exposed to any kind of racial bias.

40+ white uneducated voters, in states with racially biased laws dating back to when those 40+ whites were receiving their upbringing had laws such as:

The children of white and colored races committed to the houses of reform shall be kept entirely separate from each other."

"White and colored persons shall not be taught in the same school."

West Virginia did not give up the latter from their state constitution until 1994 by the way.

What I'm stating is that this notion of whites being too racist to elect a black president is simply not true. I canvassed in North Carolina for the Obama campaign and when I got there it was nothing but white people, all from different states. They traveled from Rhode Island, Texas, Arizona, Maine.. just to get the word out in a state where Obama was already expected to win big.

The generation that holds racism near and dear is on their way out. Exit polls show that the younger whites, especially educated ones are very open minded and vote by the issues rather than traits.. I take that as a sign of things to come.