Geraldine Ferarro lets her emotions do the talking

[SteveLaura 0]

And Hillary does well with women. And McCain probably does well with 72 year old white men.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Even if its as cut and dried as that, and I'm not convinced that it is - I'm not sure what it would really prove.

Surely someone from Obama's campaign could equally claim that color is the reason that BO didn't do as well in other states.

[no name 1]

Well - he won 90% of black voters and only 30% of white voters. For better or for worse, I'd say race was a factor

Obama win Defined by Race

Exit polls: Miss. Dems divide on racial lines

Buoyed by an overwhelming edge among African-American voters, Barack Obama cruised to victory over Hillary Clinton in the Mississippi primary

Like it or not, Race looms large in Dem contest

Edited March 12, 2008 by illumine

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

Well - he won 90% of black voters and only 30% of white voters. For better or for worse, I'd say race was a factor

Pointing out demographics is one thing. Stating, as a fact, that he won because of race is just dumb, unless someone can provide a written statement from each voter stating that they voted for him because he's black. Anyway, aren't the democrats supposed to be the party of equality?

A person may also say that the reason why 70% of whites voted for Hillary because she is white.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Well - he won 90% of black voters and only 30% of white voters. For better or for worse, I'd say race was a factor

I'm sure it played a role - but the idea that people only vote a certain way because of how a candidate looks, physically is a little bizarre to me. People vote for any number of reasons and I'm not sure it can be assumed what role race played in terms of individual voting decisions.

I mean what's being said here (I'm not talking you specifically - but in terms of generalities)? that BO is somehow 'stealing' the nomination away from HC?

Is that what's going on here?

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

Well - he won 90% of black voters and only 30% of white voters. For better or for worse, I'd say race was a factor

Obama win Defined by Race

Exit polls: Miss. Dems divide on racial lines

Buoyed by an overwhelming edge among African-American voters, Barack Obama cruised to victory over Hillary Clinton in the Mississippi primary

Like it or not, Race looms large in Dem contest

What does that prove? Again, you're using demographics very loosely here.

You cannot prove, for a fact, that a single person voted for Obama because he's black.

On that note, if anyone voted for Obama because he's black, please speak up on Dev the Omniscient's behalf.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Clinton polled really well with black voters until BO got some momentum (many voters preferred her to BO before the primaries). You can bet she would have won most of the southern states which BO won if they didn't defect to him. Was race the only factor - maybe not, but probably, whether we like it or not.

Personally, I'm tired of this election being about identity politics.

[SMOKE 1,426]

keep fighting it out dems.

president McCain w/ gladly take all the SPITE votes sure to come from this. coz there's gonna be a bunch of 'em

[rebeccajo 14]

I don't think how she's being racist, really. She's not saying anything bad about Obama, she just said he's getting attention for being black. Same as she did back in 1984. That's not being racist.

Diana

For the first time, the Democratic Presidential nominee will not be a white man. She could equally say - as she did for herself - that Hillary would not be in her position right now if she were male. To my knowledge, she hasn't. Why not?

Ooooooooohh....I like that.

[no name 1]

Well - he won 90% of black voters and only 30% of white voters. For better or for worse, I'd say race was a factor

I'm sure it played a role - but the idea that people only vote a certain way because of how a candidate looks, physically is a little bizarre to me. People vote for any number of reasons and I'm not sure it can be assumed what role race played in terms of individual voting decisions.

I mean what's being said here (I'm not talking you specifically - but in terms of generalities)? that BO is somehow 'stealing' the nomination away from HC?

Is that what's going on here?

No, I don't think so. For many people - it's divided on racial & gender lines, bottom line. The media preys on that & exploits it.

[HAL 9000 96]

I actually do think that race IS more of an issue than what we may want to idealize. Race, not of a liberal guilt/burden brand like Geraldine cried in what I can actually understand, may end up being more clearly seen as an issue by white voters not at all interested in voting for an African American that shares pretty much the same views as does the white (female) candidate. Thus the race card IS an issue and the voting breakdown may yet be telling us something quite insidious about voter behavior that should be addressed... not as a scapegoat for one candidates' success but rather as his avoidance in areas that are naturally prone to play the race card on a historical basis.

Too bad people can't quite see more than skin deep. At least the Obama camp is sticking to playing the issues, while in my view I see some, not all, of the Clinton camp playing whine and cry politics. Very unfortunate.

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

Clinton polled really well with black voters until BO got some momentum (many voters preferred her to BO before the primaries). You can bet she would have won most of the southern states which BO won if they didn't defect to him. Was race the only factor - maybe not, but probably, whether we like it or not.

Personally, I'm tired of this election being about identity politics.

You can bet I would have won every southern state if I was the only candidate. That was a completely irrelavent statement to the matter at hand. Again, you are definitely toeing the line with that last statement. It was PROBABLY the ONLY factor. I bet Hillary laments that them ignorant southern negros ain't capable of critical thinking.

[no name 1]

Well - he won 90% of black voters and only 30% of white voters. For better or for worse, I'd say race was a factor

Obama win Defined by Race

Exit polls: Miss. Dems divide on racial lines

Buoyed by an overwhelming edge among African-American voters, Barack Obama cruised to victory over Hillary Clinton in the Mississippi primary

Like it or not, Race looms large in Dem contest

What does that prove? Again, you're using demographics very loosely here.

You cannot prove, for a fact, that a single person voted for Obama because he's black.

On that note, if anyone voted for Obama because he's black, please speak up on Dev the Omniscient's behalf.

Read those links. The exit polls are based on FACT.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Personally, I'm tired of this election being about identity politics.

Agreed - I also don't like the accusatory tone of some of this stuff. If BO winning a state because of race is somehow outrageous, surely its equally outrageous that he did poorly among whites. At the least these questions should be asked - rather than the apparent (sour grapes) assertion that he's somehow stealing the election away from the "inevitable" candidate.

In any case I'm not sure the central message in BO's campaign is one of race. Touching on it once or twice in speeches is all well and good (and HC has done the same I believe) but I don't think either of the candidates are basing their entire campaign on the basis of race and gender. Surely that will only get them so far anyway...

[rebeccajo 14]

And Obama won Miss. based on race. Fact.

And Hillary pulled in her Texas delegates based on going after the Latino vote. Fact.