The American presidential election (55)
“The Democrats are starting to struggle in a presidential race which they should be dominating. America is beset by economic troubles, mired in an unpopular foreign war and facing an unpopular Republican party. A stunning 80 per cent of Americans think that the country is heading in the wrong direction. Yet Obama and McCain are virtually tied in the polls. The possible explanations are multiple. The Democratic campaign is being daily assaulted by withering Republican attack ads. At the same time, there are still deep scars in the party left by the ferocious battle between Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton. And then there is the issue of race.”
In an article titled “Why has Obama stalled?” a British newspaper – the “Observer” – dares to explore the four-letter word that so much of the Ameican media leaves unspoken.
August 24th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Hey Roger,
The polling data that I am aware of shows that being a woman or being older is a bigger negative amongst voters than is race.
So both Clinton and McCain arguably face(d) bigger challenges and prejudices than Obama. He probably needs to find some other reason — other than race — to explain why he is not winning.
If you review this page, you’ll see some of these polls:
http://www.pollingreport.com/politics.htm
And it’s hardly true that the American media have not covered this issue. It’s all I heard about when I was back in the states earlier this summer.
It should be an interesting election!
Russ
August 24th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
I’m not sure that polling picks up accurately the extent of racial anxiety by voters. I think that many voters are reluctant to admit that race would be a factor in their decision and may not even be consiously aware of it themselves.