Obama's Next Challenge: The White Vote

Lyndon Johnson was the last Democratic presidential candidate to win a majority of the white vote. Experts say Barack Obama will need more than 40 percent to win the election. And right now, a CBS News poll shows he's getting only 38. Byron Pitts has more about the race factor.

Pitts asked Sherree Fox, of Middletown, Penn., whether she thinks race will play a role in the election.

"Absolutely," she said. "I do. Just from what other people say."

What kinds of things has she heard people say?

"Well, that he's black and you know, we've never had a black president. They're just against that," she said.

"They don't want him in there, 'cause his name sounds like the other country," said Wayne Stroausbaugh of Hanover, Penn.

Volunteers at Obama's campaign headquarters in Scranton have heard it all before.

"This is a Democratic county, this part of the state. So why isn't Barack Obama an easy sell?" Pitts asked.

"I still think it's because people don't know him that well. That's what I think," one Obama volunteer said.

"He's on TV all the time; he's got commercials here?" Pitts asked.

"Yes, but probably race is an issue for some people still," he said.

Obama got trounced by Hillary Clinton in the Pennsylvania primary, losing three-to-one. With two months left to go before the election, Obama's volunteers are working overtime to make sure race is not the decisive factor in November.

"We need to put the right person in the White House," said an Obama volunteer Mary Magner. "We need to look past that fungus called prejudice."

That won't be easy, says political analyst Larry Sabato.

"Race is - it's one of the touchiest, most sensitive subjects in American culture and life. And it's going to play a role in this election, both to help Obama and hurt Obama," Sabato said.

Obama is the first African-American with a serious chance of winning the presidency, and there is some concern that what happened to Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley could happen to Obama.

In 1982, Los Angeles Mayor Bradley was on the verge of becoming California's first black governor. Late polls showed Bradley holding a double-digit lead over his white opponent. But on Election Day - he lost.

It turned out that many white voters who told pollsters they would back Bradley did not. That election became known as the "Bradley Effect" -- where pollsters find some voters lie to hide their racial prejudice.

Though in recent elections there's been no real evidence of it.

"There is no question, even though racial prejudice has decreased over time, there is still some of it out there, and it will show up at the polls," Sabato said.

It's a dilemma that Sen. Obama acknowledged early on.

"Will there be some folks who probably don't vote for me because I am black? Of course. Yeah, but the question is, can we get a majority of the American people to give us a fair hearing," Obama said.

Obama has some work to do among white working-class voters. According to the latest CBS News/New York Times poll, white voters without a college degree are supporting McCain by 14 percent. Also, among white voters with an income under $50,000, Obama is still edged out by McCain.

At Chic's Diner - a local landmark in Scranton - people there told Pitts that in these tough economic times, the color that will matter most - they said - is green.

"We're working to go to work," said one trucker. "That's all you're doing. To me he is the man for the job right now. We have to change something in this country. It has to be done now. We can't wait. The average workers, we're just getting burned."

In my opinion, if this person is green, yellow, black, it doesn't matter," another diner said. "It doesn't matter what color you are, just do your job - that's it."