White Voters and Obama

Why isn't Obama farther ahead in the polling? The objective factors that favor the Democrats this year are overwhelming: the worst economy since the Great Depression, the most unpopular incumbent president in the history of polling, and a money advantage in the campaign that is unprecedented for a Democrat. The polls all show that Obama will win – but the authoritative polling statistics website, FiveThirtyEight.com, predicts that Obama will end up with 52 per cent of the vote.

If Obama does get 52 per cent of the white vote today, that will be more than any Democrat in the last 40 years – more than Bill Clinton, who got 49.2 per cent in 1996 (when Ross Perot got 8.4 per cent) and more than Jimmy Carter, who got 50.1 per cent in 1976. But it's nowhere near LBJ's 60.1 per cent in 1964, or Ronald Reagan's 58.8 percent in 1984.

One reason why Obama isn't farther ahead may be race. The evidence here is of course problematic. When the New York Times-CBS poll in August asked white people whether they would vote for a black presidential candidate, only five per cent said "no"--impressive evidence that America has at last overcome its racist past.

But the pollsters asked a number of other questions to uncover racist attitudes: do you think an Obama administration would favor blacks over whites? 16 per cent of whites said "yes." Do you think America is ready for a black president? 24 per cent of whites said "no." And the question pollsters consider the most significant: do you agree or disagree with the statement, "Most of the people I know would not vote for a black presidential candidate"? 19 per cent of whites agreed.

All this suggests the number of white likely voters who will vote against Obama today because he is black is somewhere between 16 and 24 per cent. That's something like 25 or 30 million racist white votes against Obama – more than the total number of black voters.

On the other hand: Obama has more support from white voters than any Democratic candidate in the last 30 years. According to another New York Times-CBS poll, 44 per cent of whites support Obama. If he ends up tonight with that 44 per cent, that will be more than supported Kerry, who got 41 per cent; more than Gore, who got 43 per cent; and more than Clinton in 1996, who also got 43 percent. Only Jimmy Carter got more: 47 per cent, and of course he was a southern white man.

The reason why more whites support Obama than any Democrat in the last 30 years is not hard to find: "it's the economy, stupid" -- that, and Obama's steady and calm focus on economic issues.

But if it were up to whites, McCain would almost certainly be our next president. Obama can win only with the vote of nonwhites – a fact well known to Republicans, who have spent years working to reduce the number of black voters through new voter ID laws, purges of the voter rolls, felon disfranchisement, insufficient voting equipment in black precincts, and other well-known factors. The Obama campaign surely knows all about this, and is prepared to fight fiercely to protect the vote.

One other crucial factor: America is significantly less white today than it was a decade or two ago. As John Harwood of the New York Times pointed out on Monday, when Reagan won reelection in 1984, the electorate was 86 per cent white; by 2004, the white percentage had dropped to 77. That's one reason why an interracial coalition is likely to elect America's first black president today.

Comments (67)

1. A more accurate assessment might be that I still hear people calling him:

   A Muslim

   A communist

   A terrorist

   a baby killer

   These people are inevitably white. Are they hiding their fear behind ignorance or vice-versa?

   I can think of no better forward movement for America than to have an African-American president with a really funky name. the irony of his middle name will not be lost on the rest of the world, especially the on the fence radicals out ME.

   Posted by crabwalk at 11/03/2008 @ 8:52pm

2. Nobody wants to come out and call herself a racist, thus she falls back on other terms like communist, terrorist; etc. Easier to look in the mirror, I guess.

   Posted by onthehelm at 11/03/2008 @ 9:20pm

3. "Given a choice of several positive and negative adjectives that might describe blacks, 20 percent of all whites said the word "violent" strongly applied. Among other words, 22 percent agreed with "boastful," 29 percent "complaining," 13 percent "lazy" and 11 percent "irresponsible." When asked about positive adjectives, whites were more likely to stay on the fence than give a strongly positive assessment.

   Among white Democrats, one third cited a negative adjective and, of those, 58 percent said they planned to back Obama.

   The poll sought to measure latent prejudices among whites by asking about factors contributing to the state of black America. One finding: More than a quarter of white Democrats agree that "if blacks would only try harder, they could be just as well off as whites."

   Those who agreed with that statement were much less likely to back Obama than those who didn't.

   Among white independents, racial stereotyping is not uncommon. For example, while about 20 percent of independent voters called blacks "intelligent" or "smart," more than one third latched on the adjective "complaining" and 24 percent said blacks were "violent."

   Nearly four in 10 white independents agreed that blacks would be better off if they "try harder.""

   http://news.yahoo.com/page/election-2008-political-pulse-obama-race

   Posted by frosty zoom at 11/03/2008 @ 9:25pm

4. it's important for pollsters to tell us the size of the electorate that they're basing their numbers on. in 2004, 121 million people voted (62 million for bush, 59 million for kerry, if you really believe that bush, with a 48.5% approval rating, managed to increase his number of votes by a stunning 12 million over 2000).

   i'd like the pollsters to tell us: 1) how many first-time voters do they expect in this election, and 2) how they predict first-timers will vote.

   an honest pollster, of course, will tell us that they have no idea how many new voters will vote. and of course that may be what decides the election. of course it also determines one's current poll numbers.

   real pollsters would be telling us how it would break down if only 2004 voters showed up, and then work from there to tell us how turnout might effect the election. without this, the numbers are more or less meaningless. and if actual turnout is significantly higher than what the pollsters are working into their models, it almost certainly means that current polls are understating obama's support.

   while the pollsters were at it, they could tell us who george's 12 million new-found friends were in 2004 (if anyone knows the answer to this question, let me know), & what their plans were in this election.

   i guess it would be too much to ask for pollsters to predict how many people won't be able to vote because there just aren't enough machines, or perhaps because there just isn't enough time in the day.

   Posted by jasonrhodes at 11/03/2008 @ 9:40pm

5. WHO among the "name" (pulling down the big bucks, big sales, big arenas) rock stars of today, do you think IS good?

   Posted by Maskdelta at 11/03/2008 @ 2:45pm

   bruce is "of today"?

   anyhoo,

   big names -- green day, chili peppers, audioslave, rage against the machine, white stripes, bloc party, system of a down.....

   i don't like bruce springsteen, however.

   ew.

   Posted by frosty zoom at 11/03/2008 @ 9:45pm

6. Fuck off, FROSTY.

   Posted by pontificus at 11/03/2008 @ 2:44pm

   whoa, nelly!

   Posted by frosty zoom at 11/03/2008 @ 9:46pm

7. Posted by jasonrhodes at 11/03/2008 @ 9:40pm

   true enough .. at present about 24% of the 2004 total number has already voted (with some states like NC & NC over 70%)

   http://elections.gmu.edu/early_vote_2008.html

   gonna be an interesting day tomorrow

   Posted by leftofcenter at 11/03/2008 @ 9:51pm

8. Fuck off, FROSTY. Posted by pontificus at 11/03/2008 @ 2:44pm whoa, nelly! Posted by frosty zoom at 11/03/2008 @ 9:46pm

   woohoo. To what do you owe the honor?

   Posted by crabwalk at 11/03/2008 @ 9:53pm

9. Posted by HAPPYLonghorn at 11/03/2008 @ 9:26pm

   Stereotypes save time. Thanks for being one yourself.

   Posted by crabwalk at 11/03/2008 @ 9:56pm

10. Posted by frosty zoom at 11/03/2008 @ 9:46pm

    Aww! You hurt his pwecious widdle feewings!

    pon·tif·i·cate –noun 1. the office or term of office of a pontiff. –verb (used without object) 2. to perform the office or duties of a pontiff. 3. to speak in a pompous or dogmatic manner: Did he pontificate about the responsibilities of a good citizen? 4. to serve as a bishop, esp. in a Pontifical Mass.

    At least he admits he's prone to bloviated nonsense.

    Posted by TexasFlood at 11/03/2008 @ 9:56pm

11. JOE THE BOMBER!

    "We're doing much better actually, there's a poll out today that shows we're within about three so we're moving up and moving up fast. And look, Joe the Bomb -- uh -- Joe the Plumber turned the whole thing around."

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/03/2008 @ 9:58pm

12. What a silly, silly piece. Imagine, pollsters can do what NO OTHER person can do - read the human mind. 16 to 24% of whites are racist. End of story. How asinine. Does Wiener actually believe Nation readers will buy that? Umm.... never mind.

    An equally important question is.. Why aren't more blacks voting for McCain? Is his race a factor?

    Another question. Ask white Democrats: "Does voting for Obama make you feel better about yourself? Does it make you feel that, no matter how racist those other white people are, that you are enlightened, intelligent, and love your fellow man the way those folk songs told you that you should?"

    Posted by twillie at 11/03/2008 @ 10:01pm

13. hey, HAPPY.

    so the white folks fill the coffers, huh?

    IS THAT WHY THE COUNTRY IS $10,000,000,000,000 IN DEBT??!?!?!??!?

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/03/2008 @ 10:02pm

14. go forth and hybridize!

    it's fun.

    p.s. obama isn't "black". he's just another hybrid.

    like you, twillie.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/03/2008 @ 10:04pm

15. hybrids unite!

    monoculture rocks!

    Posted by crabwalk at 11/03/2008 @ 10:10pm

16. Posted by frosty zoom at 11/03/2008 @ 9:45pm

    This must be something that should have gone on another thread. But since it is here...why not add a few?

    The top concert for this week was San Francisco's Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival. They had a few great bands: Radiohead, Tom Petty, Manu Chao, Wilco, Widespread Panic.

    http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/boxscore.jsp

    There's lot of great top artists - David Byrne, Peter Gabriel, NiN, etc.

    I think the better music is being made by those somewhat lesser known, such as Calexico, Nick Cave, Chuck Prophet, Raphael Saadiq, Okkervil River, Jenny Lewis, Iron and Wine, Neko Case, and so forth.

    Posted by srjenkins at 11/03/2008 @ 10:13pm

17. "...felon disfranchisement..."

    posted by Jon Wiener on 11/03/2008 @ 8:34pm

    I really wish you wouldn't write such monumentally idiotic statements like that. It hurts your position and everybody else's on the team, and gives the other side a big stick over a statistically insignificant number of potential voters.

    Posted by Benchrest at 11/03/2008 @ 10:15pm

18. Sen McCain has a new book out, "Where's Joe". The premise is a candidate trying to find his prop in a crowd.

    I'm Joe

    Your Joe

    We are all Joe

    when Joe isn't around.

    Posted by crabwalk at 11/03/2008 @ 10:18pm

19. So, HAPPY, are you enjoying your federally backed and nationalized investor status? Darn that socialism!

    Posted by crabwalk at 11/03/2008 @ 10:25pm

20. Last I heard, white felons were also disENfranchised, white voters had to show IDs, and there are insufficient voting machines in some white precincts.

    Besides, dead non-whites are just as likely as dead whites to be registered to vote by ACORN workers. heheh

    Posted by twillie at 11/03/2008 @ 10:26pm

21. "I would be receiving his tax cuts," Wurzelbacher said.

    Posted by crabwalk at 11/03/2008 @ 10:29pm

22. Posted by HAPPYLonghorn at 11/03/2008 @ 10:13pm

    How did you like the Texas Tech game?

    Posted by Benchrest at 11/03/2008 @ 10:29pm

23. President Obama.

    sounds about right, don't you think, Twillie?

    " I, Barak Hussein Obama do..."

    fulfill the American Dream and lay to waste the overt racism that has dogged this country for too long.

    Posted by crabwalk at 11/03/2008 @ 10:34pm

24. Posted by HAPPYLonghorn at 11/03/2008 @ 10:33pm

    Magic.. what?

    What is a he a magic of....?

    finish the phrase, Happy. If you are going to parrot people, have the courtesy to use the whole thing.

    why do you come here and prove a lefty author correct? What do you gain from that?

    Posted by crabwalk at 11/03/2008 @ 10:37pm

25. Well hap, it's great that you are reaping rewards from my tax dollars found in the bailout of the free market.

    Have a nice evening fighting the socialists.

    Posted by crabwalk at 11/03/2008 @ 10:40pm

26. It's wonderful that this country has overcome the 25% racists and elected a Black president.

    Now it's time to turn to the journalists. This is the whitest group going outside of the klan. Let's hire some minorities at The Nation, get rid of these tired-ass crackers repeating the same old lines. It's time for CHANGE.

    And another group, Hollywood. Yeah, I know but, but, but Halle Berry and Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman. Riiigghhtt, whatever. Run the numbers of people of color in this country and apply these to Hollywood. Looks like a South Carolina GOP convention.

    If a Black man can be the most powerful person on the globe, at least one network should have a Black anchor for the evening news.

    The white man has been running the show since they slaughtered Native Americans for no reason. It's time for CHANGE.

    Posted by bleedingheart at 11/03/2008 @ 10:41pm

27. Posted by HAPPYLonghorn at 11/03/2008 @ 10:40pm

    Agreed! Awesome game. I thought my OSU Cowboys had a chance, however Coach Brown had different plans.

    Congrats! You have a seriously great team this year!

    Posted by Benchrest at 11/03/2008 @ 10:47pm

28. bleedingheart:

    Will we hold Obama accountable to make sure his cabinet is an accurate statistical representation of the population of the US? You can use 2000 Census data, or the 2006 update, your choice. Race and gender must count.

    Posted by sntauri at 11/03/2008 @ 10:55pm

29. Posted by frosty zoom at 11/03/2008 @ 9:45pm

    Okay, I apologize.

    Posted by Maskdelta at 11/03/2008 @ 11:03pm

30. sntauri,

    I agree 100%.

    Posted by bleedingheart at 11/03/2008 @ 11:03pm

31. instead, IF Magic wins, it will be Jimmy Carter II!-----Posted by HAPPYLonghorn at 11/03/2008 @ 9:26pm |

    HAPP, who was that guy on the radio who used to talk about how "they only get their power back if America fails"?

    and how neat is it going to be to see him (and you) become what you once attacked??!?!?

    heheh

    Posted by Maskdelta at 11/03/2008 @ 11:06pm

32. Radiohead,

    •• deep groove, solid sound.

    Tom Petty,

    •• ew.

    Manu Chao, Wilco, Widespread Panic.

    •• wow, so many folks, so little time.....

    top artists

    •• we're all geniuses. my friend farmer george makes the most amazing sculptures from indian stone tools he finds on his land.

    David Byrne,

    •• he's funny.

    Peter Gabriel,

    •• weird voice, (i think)

    NiN,

    •• who's that?

    etc.

    •• now THAT band rocks!

    I think the better music is being made by those somewhat lesser known, such as Calexico, Nick Cave, Chuck Prophet, Raphael Saadiq, Okkervil River, Jenny Lewis, Iron and Wine, Neko Case, and so forth.

    •• no way! these guys got them beat:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFlLjqMP1gA&fmt=18

    Posted by srjenkins at 11/03/2008 @ 10:13pm

    we're all geniuses. even ponti.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/03/2008 @ 11:08pm

33. Okay, I apologize.

    Posted by Maskdelta at 11/03/2008 @ 11:03pm

    no apology sought.

    do you like mr. springsteen's music?

    he's a genius. we're all geniuses at something or other.

    i know that may not make much sense but i don't care.

    I LEAD THE OFF TOPIC REBELLION!!!!!!!!

    POSTERS UNITE!!!!!

    Tell us of your dog. or about the native grasses of kansas. or about bench's poor taste in music......

    whatever!

    it matters not because tonight is

    NEWBAMA'S EVE.*

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/03/2008 @ 11:15pm

34. *i sure hope those "pennsylvania secret" rumours are false and that we won't be seeing mr. cheney quietly appointed assistant undersecretary of world in a mccain administration.

    is it a new moon?

    let's check.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/03/2008 @ 11:17pm

35. "Tell us of your dog. or about the native grasses of kansas. or about bench's poor taste in music......"

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/03/2008 @ 11:15pm

    bad Frosty!

    Posted by Benchrest at 11/03/2008 @ 11:17pm

36. I think the better music is being made by those somewhat lesser known

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/03/2008 @ 11:08pm

    Cross Canadian Ragweed, some of my friends.

    Posted by Benchrest at 11/03/2008 @ 11:20pm

37. nope,

    the new moon was on devil's night.

    hey,

    these guys are great!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKO1SVcj4xg&fmt=18&fmt=18

    this one's got bad sound, but the performances are excellent.

    horse groove.....

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/03/2008 @ 11:36pm

38. ragweed

    posted by bench

    After forming in Yukon, Oklahoma...

    Yukon is a city in Canadian County, Oklahoma, United States and is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area. The population was 21,043 at the 2000 census.....

    Canadian County is named for the Canadian River.....

    Much of the time the Canadian is just a slow trickle bounded by red mud flats and quicksand. When sufficient rain has fallen, the river can carry substantial amounts of water.....

    YOU'VE DAMMED THE CANADIAN!

    RETURN THE CANADIAN TO ITS TRUE GLORY!

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/03/2008 @ 11:48pm

39. Something positive for the worldly to cheer about!

    Posted by RedRiver_. at 11/03/2008 @ 11:13pm

    you betcha!

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/03/2008 @ 11:49pm

40. Posted by RedRiver_. at 11/03/2008 @ 11:20pm

    i bet they've dammed the red river, too.

    let's check:

    Since 1943 the Red River has been dammed by Denison Dam to form Lake Texoma, a large reservoir of 89,000 acres (360 km²), some 70 miles (110 km) north of Dallas.

    yep.

    hey rio,

    it's NEWBAMA'S EVE.*

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/03/2008 @ 11:53pm

41. Posted by frosty zoom at 11/03/2008 @ 11:48pm

    www.crosscanadianragweed.com

    They're my friends. Take a quick listen.

    Posted by Benchrest at 11/03/2008 @ 11:53pm

42. *well,

    at the very least it will be different.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/03/2008 @ 11:54pm

43. hey bench,

    are you one of these dudes at the beginning of this video:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIKxAtcbEWY&feature=related&fmt=18

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/04/2008 @ 12:00am

44. Posted by frosty zoom at 11/04/2008 @ 12:00am

    ha ha ha no.

    Posted by Benchrest at 11/04/2008 @ 12:08am

45. thomas sowell's voting mccain.

    condi, too.

    who else?

    james brown might have. he endorsed nixon.

    http://africanamericans.johnmccain.com/africanamericans.htm

    hmmm,

    let's see if there's a euroamericans for obama page.

    nope.

    what a strange world.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/04/2008 @ 12:08am

46. band's not bad. kinda hybrid music. grunge'o'country'o'ac/dc'o'poprock kinda.

    bass sounds good.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/04/2008 @ 12:10am

47. How about a little TRUTH about what an Obamanation Presidency will bring us!

    Posted by RedRiver

    Carnac the Great has spoken!

    It would almost be funny if it wasn't so sad for so many people. Right wingers speculate about how bad an Obama presidency would be, while at the same time, they try to distance themselves from Dubya and the last 8 years of one failure after another.

    Posted by koroviev at 11/04/2008 @ 12:12am

48. Posted by frosty zoom at 11/04/2008 @ 12:10am

    Music is called "Red Dirt".

    You nailed it though.

    Thanks for taking a gander.

    Posted by Benchrest at 11/04/2008 @ 12:13am

49. holy cow.

    pollster's got georgia as a toss up,

    north dakota 46 - 42.9 for obama.

    my toes are like super crossed.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/04/2008 @ 12:17am

50. hey rio,

    thanks.

    must be beautiful country. god's good at making stuff.

    http://www.nwtf.org/nwtf_newsroom/photos/canadian_river_print.jpg

    ""The banks of western waterways have become infested with invasive plants that have out-competed native vegetation, such as cottonwoods, willows and other native trees, grasses and shrubs," said Pedersen. "Recent research has shown that if these areas continue to lose cottonwoods at the current rate, the region's wild turkey population will decline dramatically over the next 20 years."

    The majority of the land along the Canadian River is privately owned, and much of it is covered with invasive plant species such as salt cedar, Russian olive and eastern red cedar.

    "We understand that the cooperation of private landowners will be critical to the success of this project", said Pedersen. "As the project progresses, partners will be soliciting input from landowners as part of their planning process."

    The collaborative project would target the Canadian River and its tributaries in five Texas counties, including Hutchinson, Roberts, Hemphill, Carson and Gray and six Oklahoma counties including Ellis, Roger Mills, Dewey, Custer, Blaine and Canadian."

    http://www.nwtf.org/nwtf_newsroom/press_releases.php?id=11929

    ≥≤≥≤≥≤

    you know,

    the wild turkeys have returned here.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/04/2008 @ 12:28am

51. Wild turkeys have returned to eastern Ontario in unprecedented numbers, a development that has conservationists cheering but some farmers crying "fowl."

    Wildlife expert Darcy Alkerton lets turkeys feed on his farm near Spencerville, Ont. (Chad Pawson/CBC) Having almost vanished because of logging and unregulated hunting, the birds were re-introduced to Ontario 20 years ago.

    The provincewide population of wild turkeys has now reached 100,000, with 13,000 of them in the Ottawa area.

    "[IT'S A] VERY WISE BIRD. THAT'S WHY THEY'VE EXISTED SO WELL. IT'S BECAUSE THEY ARE SMART," SAID DARCY ALKERTON, A WILDLIFE EXPERT IN THE SPENCERVILLE, ONT., AREA.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/04/2008 @ 12:29am

52. Thanks for taking a gander.

    Posted by Benchrest at 11/04/2008 @ 12:13am

    i prefer the goose.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/04/2008 @ 12:34am

53. McCain to speak in Roswell

    New Mexico is once again at the center of the presidential race with John McCain scheduled to speak this evening in Roswell as he tries score some last minute votes.

    hmmm....

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/04/2008 @ 12:41am

54. "Republicans recently cut off their support to Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, who represents the conservative High Plains area of eastern Colorado. House incumbents who haven't gotten any help from the national Republican Party include Reps. Robin Hayes of North Carolina, Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and Mark Kirk of Illinois, as well as scandal-tainted Reps. Tom Feeney of Florida and Don Young of Alaska."

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/04/2008 @ 12:48am

55. hurry up, america......

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/04/2008 @ 12:48am

56. Posted by frosty zoom at 11/04/2008 @ 12:41am

    Ugh. Yeah, I saw that one too.

    Posted by Sorelish at 11/04/2008 @ 12:58am

57. From the first day when John McCain selected Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, we have been hearing about "Troopergate," Palin's firing of the state's Public Safety Commissioner. The firing was obviously justified, as the Public Safety Commissioner, who serves at the pleasure of the Governor, was actively trying to undermine Palin's policies.

    Now, only hours before the election and after endless nonsense in the press, the investigator appointed by the Alaska Personnel Board has cleared Governor Palin, concluding that "there is no probable cause to believe Palin or any other state official violated the Alaska Executive Ethics Act in connection with the firing." No kidding. Given that the investigator, Timothy Petumenos, is a Democrat who contributed to the campaign of Palin's opponent, Tony Knowles, in 2006, this should finally put the silliness of "Troopergate" to rest.

    Meanwhile, if reporters and others are looking for something meaningful to investigate, they might try to find out how much of Barack Obama's $600 million campaign haul was collected through criminal means.

    I'm kidding, of course. Everyone knows that America's reporters and editors are not interested in pursuing that story, even though no one can deny that crimes--perhaps millions of crimes--have been committed, or that those crimes influenced a Presidential election. And we all know why our "mainstream" reporters and editors avert their eyes from the story.

    Posted by pontificus at 11/04/2008 @ 05:59am

58. Posted by pontificus at 11/04/2008 @ 05:59am

    Lets see... the board appointed by Palin excused her.

    Fascinating.

    Tell me more about Prof Rashid and his ties to terrorism, Obama and McCain, Ponti. I want to see the difference.

    Posted by crabwalk at 11/04/2008 @ 06:51am

59. ACORN?

    MADISON, Wis. – Four employees hired by a temporary staffing agency to encourage absentee voting for Republican presidential candidate John McCain say they were instructed to tell people they were GOP volunteers.

    Posted by crabwalk at 11/04/2008 @ 06:54am

60. HAPPY, no conviction, eh?

    The entirety of the phrase you use is "Magic Negro". But, I am sure that is not racist at all.

    Posted by crabwalk at 11/04/2008 @ 06:58am

61. A Bailout To Save Capitalism by Rich Lowry

    Opponents of the Henry Paulson bailout plan are prepared to try an economic experiment: Is it possible to have capitalism without capital?

    The massive government intervention in the financial system represented by the embattled $700 billion plan has brought fiery denunciations of creeping socialism from the right and fierce attacks on welfare for Wall Street at the expense of the middle class from the left. All of this windy posturing might have a point if capitalism could operate effectively in the absence of a functioning financial system (it can't) and if it weren't proverbial Main Street that will ultimately suffer the direst consequences from severe financial dysfunction (it will).

    The phrase the "real" economy has become a hallmark of the debate over the bailout. The "real" economy is implicitly contrasted with the "fake" economy of the financial world and identified with all things wholesome and solid.

    ...If conservative purists opposing the Paulson plan were to be consistent in their market fundamentalism, they'd work Ron Paul-style to eliminate the Federal Reserve and just accept depressions as the cost of doing business in a capitalist system, as we once did in the 19th century.

    ----

    HAPPY is FOR socialism when it benefits him. Like the rest of the incestor class. Glad I could prop up your system with my tax dollars Hap.

    Posted by crabwalk at 11/04/2008 @ 07:13am

62. Posted by crabwalk at 11/04/2008 @ 06:58am

    HAPP won't concede the racist connotation of the term, but that's exactly why Limbaugh (his mentor) uses it...."Magic" shorthand for "Magic NEGRO"....and "Magic Negro" shorthand for...

    "that n****r"!

    Posted by Maskdelta at 11/04/2008 @ 08:40am

63. neuter?

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/04/2008 @ 10:31am

64. Posted by Maskdelta at 11/04/2008 @ 08:40am

    While I agree that magic negro as it is used by Rush and his listeners is being used as an epithet, there is an element of truth they are exploiting. There is this quality behind some of Obama's support that believes that getting him elected will get things right in this country.

    Tomorrow, he needs to start working on messaging the tones down the expectations so that he will look like a winner four years from now rather than a miserable failure - although that doesn't necessarily stop him from getting reelected as we have seen.

    Posted by srjenkins at 11/04/2008 @ 11:48am

65. Posted by frosty zoom at 11/04/2008 @ 12:29am | warn this person

    Franklin's Letter to His Daughter (excerpt)

    "For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead Tree near the River, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the Labour of the Fishing Hawk; and when that diligent Bird has at length taken a Fish, and is bearing it to his Nest for the Support of his Mate and young Ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him and takes it from him.

    "With all this Injustice, he is never in good Case but like those among Men who live by Sharping & Robbing he is generally poor and often very lousy. Besides he is a rank Coward: The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the District. He is therefore by no means a proper Emblem for the brave and honest Cincinnati of America who have driven all the King birds from our Country . . .

    "I am on this account not displeased that the Figure is not known as a Bald Eagle, but looks more like a Turkey. For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America . . . He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on."

    http://www.greatseal.com/symbols/turkey.html

    Turkeys making a comeback? Good sign. Gobble Gobble.

    Posted by OneVote at 11/04/2008 @ 11:50am

66. neuter?

    Posted by frosty zoom at 11/04/2008 @ 10:31am

    No, no, Frosty. The clue is "People who annoy you."

    http://tinyurl.com/37xdfj

    Posted by FLaim at 11/04/2008 @ 6:57pm

67. Oooh, so sorry, crabwalk and maskdelta. I know how much you would like to tar Rush with the "racist" label. But, the "magic Negro" came from David Ehrenstein, a biracial writer in LA. Is he a racist? Doubt it.

    Posted by twillie at 11/04/2008 @ 10:44pm