Are Americans too racist to vote for Obama?

[Arawn-ap-Hywel]

Comment Central - Times Online - WBLG: Are Americans too racist to vote for Obama?

The Americans will never elect a black President. You hear this stated quite confidently and quite often. But how true is it? The Washington Post has a new poll out suggesting that 3 in 10 Americans admit to race bias, though it isn't too clear from the article what this really means.

So how do you feel about this opinion?

Fact or agitation?

[ThoughtCriminal]

Quote by: Arawn-ap-Hywel Comment Central - Times Online - WBLG: Are Americans too racist to vote for Obama? So how do you feel about this opinion? Fact or agitation?

It is quite likely true. Of course, people aren't comfortable saying this outright, so they come up with vague ways to say they lack confidence in him.

TC

[thebuescherman]

I'm sure some people may be racist, but not enough to be a blatantly serious obstacle. He did, after all, beat the clear front-runner in Hilary Clinton for the D. Nomination. That certainly deserves some credit.

[Gods_Mercenary]

Agreed, racial bias can mean anything, from favoring black people or something that doesn't even apply to obama.

[Daley]

Quote by: Arawn-ap-Hywel Comment Central - Times Online - WBLG: Are Americans too racist to vote for Obama? So how do you feel about this opinion? Fact or agitation?

The question is not are American's too racist to vote for Obama. It is are they stupid enough to vote for him.

[Jack]

He's half-Black. He could always emphasize his "white side" to win over the bigots if necessary.

[ThoughtCriminal]

Quote by: Jack He's half-Black. He could always emphasize his "white side" to win over the bigots if necessary.

No, no, no. The only thing bigots hate more than "blacks" are "mixed".

TC

[Jack]

Well tanned?

[ThoughtCriminal]

Quote by: Jack Well tanned?

The existence of people who don't neatly fit into one of their categories is very threatening to them. It undermines their simple-minded scheme with ambiguities.

TC

[Maryjane]

Fact. I've heard many a white person use the "N" word when referring to him. Sad but true.

[ThoughtCriminal]

Quote by: Maryjane Fact. I've heard many a white person use the "N" word when referring to him. Sad but true.

That would be a fine example of blatant racism. More insidious are the cases where some vague, lame excuse is used. He's, uhm, too... inexperienced. I'm not sure if he'll, uh, eh, support Israel strongly enough. I'm a conservative guy and he's too, uhm, liberal, yeah. And the BS goes on.

TC

[another day]

Quote by: ThoughtCriminal That would be a fine example of blatant racism. More insidious are the cases where some vague, lame excuse is used. He's, uhm, too... inexperienced. I'm not sure if he'll, uh, eh, support Israel strongly enough. I'm a conservative guy and he's too, uhm, liberal, yeah. And the BS goes on. TC

Well, to be fair, the people who usually espouse those viewpoints wouldn't vote for a democrat, black or white. They would be saying the same things about a white democratic candidate, and would vote for the republicans either way. They may be racist as well, but they are mostly just partisan hacks who side with their party no matter what, even if the candidates policies go against their actual political beliefs.

The real example of racism is these idiotic Hilary Clinton supporters who would rather vote for a war mongering republican like McCain, than for Obama. They are the real racists who simply don't want to vote for a black man, even if it means switching parties, and completely going against all their political beliefs.

[LadiesMan217]

To tell you the truth, I don't think racism will have any effect on whether or not Obama wins the general election or not. Now you can say that South and Midwest are full of racists and what-not but that point is really moot since those are typically red states anyways so it doesn't really matter. But I am sure that if he loses there will be plenty of people who say that he lost because of race, but those are the true racists if you ask me. And ThoughtCriminal all of those excuses for not voting for Obama are legitimate excuses, believe it or not there are plenty of reasons other then race to not vote for Obama, its people like you that are hung up on race keep fueling the fire.

[The Dunedan]

I strongly resent the notion that my refusing to vote for Obama is because I, or anyone else, is racist.

I refuse to vote for Obama because he's a warmongering, constitutionally-illiterate Chicago-bred leftist with an honesty problem, not because he's half-black. I refuse to vote for Obama because his ideas are rediculous and his idea of "change" is something that makes me deeply concerned about the possible future of this country. His skin-tone has nothing to do with it; if it did, I'd be voting for McCain, which I'm not.

[Maryjane]

They are the real racists who simply don't want to vote for a black man, even if it means switching parties, and completely going against all their political beliefs.

Yes, and it's those with that mindset who I have personally heard called him the "N" word.

I strongly resent the notion that my refusing to vote for Obama is because I, or anyone else, is racist.

While I don't know you, I do know the people that made statements such as "Oh god, we are going to have a "N" for our next president!" after Hilary dropped out. You can resent it all you want, but I'm telling you, it's a FACT! There are some who will not vote for a black man.

[The Dunedan]

That's true, just as there are folks who won't vote for Hillary because she's female, or McCain because he's old, etc. etc. etc. To pretend that the idiots of any faction represent all the people of that faction with whom they happen to agree is silly, and to pretend that the racist morons who'll never vote for Obama because he's black are somehow more influential than the other moron's re. Hillary or McCain is equally so. They're a decided minority among the numbers of people refusing to vote for any of the above for any number of other vastly more intelligent and coherent reasons. Some of these vote for another of the mainstream candidates that they find more suitable, others for third-party or write-in candidates.

[thebuescherman]

Quote by: LadiesMan217 To tell you the truth, I don't think racism will have any effect on whether or not Obama wins the general election or not. Now you can say that South and Midwest are full of racists and what-not but that point is really moot since those are typically red states anyways so it doesn't really matter. But I am sure that if he loses there will be plenty of people who say that he lost because of race, but those are the true racists if you ask me. And ThoughtCriminal all of those excuses for not voting for Obama are legitimate excuses, believe it or not there are plenty of reasons other then race to not vote for Obama, its people like you that are hung up on race keep fueling the fire.

I really don't think I could have put it any better. Especially the last and incredibly long sentence.

[oades11]

Quote by: The Dunedan I strongly resent the notion that my refusing to vote for Obama is because I, or anyone else, is racist. I refuse to vote for Obama because he's a warmongering, constitutionally-illiterate Chicago-bred leftist with an honesty problem, not because he's half-black. I refuse to vote for Obama because his ideas are rediculous and his idea of "change" is something that makes me deeply concerned about the possible future of this country. His skin-tone has nothing to do with it; if it did, I'd be voting for McCain, which I'm not.

How is he anything like a warmonger? How is he constitutionally illiterate? How does he have an honesty problem any more than any other politician?

I have a very strong suspicion that those accusations are fed from propaganda and obfuscated mainstream media. Please substantiate them.

If you aren't voting for McCain or Obama, who are you voting for? Or are you not voting?

[ThoughtCriminal]

Quote by: another day Well, to be fair, the people who usually espouse those viewpoints wouldn't vote for a democrat, black or white. They would be saying the same things about a white democratic candidate, and would vote for the republicans either way. They may be racist as well, but they are mostly just partisan hacks who side with their party no matter what, even if the candidates policies go against their actual political beliefs. The real example of racism is these idiotic Hilary Clinton supporters who would rather vote for a war mongering republican like McCain, than for Obama. They are the real racists who simply don't want to vote for a black man, even if it means switching parties, and completely going against all their political beliefs.

You have a point, but what about all those so-called moderate Democrats who are too conservative to be real Democrats but not quite nuts enough to be Republicans? They'd hold their nose and vote for a white, male Democrat, but a black or female one is too much for their little red necks to accept.

TC

[ThoughtCriminal]

Quote by: LadiesMan217 To tell you the truth, I don't think racism will have any effect on whether or not Obama wins the general election or not. Now you can say that South and Midwest are full of racists and what-not but that point is really moot since those are typically red states anyways so it doesn't really matter. But I am sure that if he loses there will be plenty of people who say that he lost because of race, but those are the true racists if you ask me. And ThoughtCriminal all of those excuses for not voting for Obama are legitimate excuses, believe it or not there are plenty of reasons other then race to not vote for Obama, its people like you that are hung up on race keep fueling the fire.

I'm not claiming Obama is a great candidate, but I am saying that these are excuses. They're coming from the same swing-vote "moderate" Democrats who supported Bush, even though he was clearly unqualified.

TC