White Men Emerge As Dems' Key Swing Vote

Washington Post: Questions Remain Over Obama's Ability To Appeal To Critical Demographic

(Washingtonpost.com)  This story was written by Dan Balz.

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In the fierce campaign between Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, a battle dominated by questions of race and gender, white men have emerged as perhaps the single critical swing constituency.

The competition for the support of white men, particularly those defined as working class, will shape the showdown between Clinton and Obama in Pennsylvania's Democratic presidential primary on April 22. Obama (Ill.) won majorities among those voters in what appeared to be breakthrough victories in Wisconsin and Virginia last month. But he badly lost working-class white men to Clinton (N.Y.) in Ohio and Texas two weeks ago, keeping the outcome of the Democratic race in doubt indefinitely.

The results in Ohio in particular raised questions about whether Obama can attract support from this crucial demographic. They also brought to the forefront the question of whether racial prejudice would be a barrier to his candidacy in some of the major industrial battlegrounds in the general election if he becomes the Democratic nominee.

An examination of exit polls in Wisconsin and Ohio, states with striking similarities, shows that many more working-class white men in Ohio said race was a factor in their vote on March 4 than was the case in Wisconsin. The analysis makes clear that race was not the deciding factor in the Ohio primary but did contribute to Clinton's margin of victory.

In the past week, racial issues have dominated the campaign dialogue. Former Democratic vice presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro was forced to quit the Clinton campaign after her comments about Obama and race brought sharp criticism from the senator and his allies.

On Friday, Obama had to distance himself from his spiritual mentor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., former pastor of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ, over statements widely viewed as being anti-American. Obama has been a member of the church for two decades.

Obama's advisers have sought to play down the idea that racial prejudice was a major factor in Clinton's victory in Ohio. They suggest that Obama's poor performance among working-class white men reflects broader generational divisions that have marked the Democratic race.

David Axelrod, senior adviser to Obama, said he is uncertain how concerned the campaign should be about the influence of race on working-class white voters. "It bears some closer examination," he said. "I think for older voters, it's more of a leap than for younger voters. But I don't think it's an insuperable barrier."

Obama has sought to transcend race in his campaign, and found considerable success in that pursuit in many states. Racial divisions have shown up in Southern states, as they did last Tuesday in Mississippi and earlier in Alabama. In both primaries, Obama overwhelmingly carried the black vote and Clinton overwhelmingly carried the white vote. But in smaller states outside the South -- such as Iowa, Kansas and Utah -- where there are far fewer minorities, Obama has done extremely well with white voters.

One view in Obama's campaign is that his poor showing in Ohio primarily reflected that the state has a high number of older voters. An analysis of exit polls in the two states undercuts that assertion. There were roughly similar percentages of white working-class men over 45 and under 45 in both states. It is accurate that Obama did far better with younger men in both states, but he won younger and older white men in Wisconsin but lost both groups in Ohio.

One difference between the two states is the influence of race on voting patterns. Among white men in Wisconsin, 11 percent said race was an important factor in their vote. In Ohio, 27 percent of white men said race was an important factor. That is not enough to explain the entire difference in the voting patterns of white men in the two states, but more than enough to explain at least part of Obama's problem.

Andrew L. Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, which has endorsed Obama, said that in industrialized states that have experienced economic dislocation and job losses, the competition for jobs heightens racial tensions. "I think race is a factor in the sense that these are states that have had a decreasing number of jobs because of deindustrialization," he said.

Securing the votes of white men has become a critical factor in the Democratic race. Throughout the primary season, Clinton has dominated the votes of white women, but she and Obama have battled for support from white men.

In 27 states where exit polls were conducted, starting with Iowa on Jan. 3 and ending with Mississippi last week, Clinton won the white male vote 11 times and Obama 10 times. In five states, they basically split the votes of white men. Former senator John Edwards (N.C.) carried white men in South Carolina.

Obama has generally won decisively among white men with college degrees; Clinton has consistently done far better with those who did not graduate from college. Obama broke that pattern in mid-February in Virginia and Wisconsin. He barely lost among white men without college degrees in Virginia and won them in Wisconsin by 60 percent to 38 percent.

[rayuk-2009]

Needless to say, there are a lot of primary voters that wish they had their vote back. Read it and weep you idiots. The GOP could not have planned their strategy any better than what the Demo ignoramus''s have provided free. The next thing I get from Kerry or MoveOn.org should be an offer to crawl under the nearest rock.

[nancysabet]

If President Bush''s friend or pastor of 20 years made anti black or gay statements like the most reverend Wright did on America and the white majority, the outcry would be much worse. In addition there would be a loud demand to eliminate the church tax exemption. Pastor Wright''s comments are not new or out of context. It is who he is and Sen Obama knows him quite well. Similar to his other friend, the crook who bought his house for him. These are a look into who Sen Obama is , what is his character, who does he associate with, what does he believe in. And yes, as we find this information it is frightening!

[jimbo505]

test

[missingamerica]

I''m afraid that preacher seriously damaged Obama''s campaign...there are far too many Americans who operate on the basis of "Ok, I won''t be prejudiced because I''m not supposed to be.".

That is, their willingness to give everybody a fair chance is an intellectual exercise, not a core part of their belief system.

It doesn''t take much to tip them over.

[pepperwood2]

Good News BILL for HILLARY from Penna. Husband''''s Partial Birth Bill Veto wins support for Hillary from States Roman Catholics.

As a voting Democrat from the old school of Bill & Hillary Clinton, Mondale, Ferarro. I''''m happy to learn that Governor Rendell has come out with a vengence for Hillary in our GRRREAT State of Pa.

The old guard is alive & well here. They''''ve expressed the belief That The Shepherd Boy Obama is a Democrat out of line, not sure what that means, but it is clear that the Governor has connections, and assured us that Hillary will win Pa.

Each day his constituents gather together at the summit to find new ways to distain, mock, belittle, ridicule, and start rumors circulating concerning Obama. His camp is encircled & he is outnumbered. He has to go it alone! Somehow, we''''ve been told that Pa, NY,OH, NJ, & MA are superdelegate states and since Rendell was president of the DNC, I''''m sure he knows the ropes. We don''''t understand this but it sounds like a pretty slick trick.

We''''ve been told that Our Great White Hope is in Hillary and that she is entitled to the nomination and nothing is going to stand in HER way. I trust this will be good news for Bill, most Pa & all voters across this Great Nation of ours, & the Mainstream News. We are not biased here in Pa.

This is fun & we''''re just warming up here in Pa. It''''s Polka time so lets Roll out the Barrel & start the count down for Hillary.

[angel2008h]

The problem of Barack Obama lacking electability goes beyond white male voters.

Exit polls showed that Barack Obama candidacy is not embraced by white voters in general. Obama failed to get more than 35% of the white votes in several states like OH, AR, OK, TN, LA, AL, MS, GA, and SC with 88 ELECTORAL VOTES in a general election.

Exit polls also showed that Barack Obama candidacy is not embraced by Hispanics. Obama failed to get more 35% of the Hispanic votes in several states like TX, NY, NM, AZ, FL, NJ and CA with 177 ELECTORAL VOTES in a general Election.

Next is PA with 21 ELECTORAL VOTES.

270 ELECTORAL VOTES are needed to win the US Presidency.

[angel2008h]

The problem of Barack Obama lacking electability goes beyond white male voters.

Exit polls showed that Barack Obama candidacy is not embraced by white voters in general. Obama failed to get more than 35% of the white votes in several states like OH, AR, OK, TN, LA, AL, MS, GA, and SC with 88 ELECTORAL VOTES in a general election.

Exit polls also showed that Barack Obama candidacy is not embraced by Hispanics. Obama failed to get more 35% of the Hispanic votes in several states like TX, NY, NM, AZ, FL, NJ and CA with 177 ELECTORAL VOTES in a general Election.

Next is PA with 21 ELECTORAL VOTES.

270 ELECTORAL VOTES are needed to win the US Presidency.

[alphaa10-2009]

White Male Demographic-- 2

That is a policy both white and black, male and female voters will find especially beneficial as we recover from seven years of a void of leadership during the Bush and GOP congressional terms.

While Clinton deserves credit for her attempt at a national healthcare plan 14 years ago, Edwards deserves credit for the best-planned approach to national healthcare ever fielded. Of the remaining primary field, Obama seems most likely of the three candidates to bring that policy to reality.

Voting for a demographic rather than the interest of the country is what keeps us divided and frustrated as Americans. It is as sexist to vote for, or against, Clinton because she is female, as it is racist to vote for, or against, Obama because he is black.

Obama himself understands this well enough to distance himself from rhetoric about gender or race. Obama concentrates, instead, on rising above the residue of past politics, and is extremely popular with younger Americans as a direct result. The entire country wants reformative change-- not four more years of either Bill Clinton or George Bush.

[croft777]

This story is stupid. Sounds like they are trying to say that the people in Ohio are racist. Not hardly. Ohio just likes Hillary better.

[Syndicate]

It won''t be me. I changed my registration from Democrat to Republican. I so enjoyed voting for McCain. My wife was alittle mad. She wanted to vote for McCain too but didn''t change her registration in time. She had to settle for Obama. I tried to get her to vote for Clinton but she wouldn''t do it. You should have seen her reaction to Reverand Wrights sermons. Oh My God. I did not know that little girl could get so fired up.

[croft777]

This story is stupid. Sounds like they are trying to say that the people in Ohio are racist. Not hardly. Ohio just likes Hillary better.

[blkpresident]

Let''s hope that most of these White men will understand that we are a nation at war, so a soccer mom playing president isn''t what America needs at this critical time in our history. America needs a man''s touch at the helm--not an OLD man like McCain but a man nevertheless.

[blkpresident]

Let''s hope that most of these White men will understand that we are a nation at war, so a soccer mom playing president isn''t what America needs at this critical time in our history. America needs a man''s touch at the helm--not an OLD man like McCain but a man nevertheless.

[blkpresident]

Let''s hope that most of these White men will understand that we are a nation at war, so a soccer mom playing president isn''t what America needs at this critical time in our history. America needs a man''s touch at the helm--not an OLD man like McCain but a man nevertheless.

[alphaa10-2009]

This forum needs somebody to pay attention to its administration-- no user can post anything with a single apostrophe, for example, without the software displaying TWO apostrophes.

Likewise, the forum today offers viewers an opportunity to comment on the above story, but the posting link is down. This "link is down" situation has happened many times before-- and the problem never was fixed.

Unfortunately, the only way to check whether the link is back up is to send a post, which means I have sent a few extra copies of my post, in the process.

CBS management understands many more viewers check out the CBS website in order to reach the forums, and they profit from our continuing interest, efforts and participation.

[alphaa10-2009]

White Male Demographic-- 2

That is a policy both white and black, male and female voters will find especially beneficial as we recover from seven years of a void of leadership during the Bush and GOP congressional terms.

While Clinton deserves credit for her attempt at a national healthcare plan 14 years ago, Edwards deserves credit for the best-planned approach to national healthcare ever fielded. Of the remaining primary field, Obama seems most likely of the three candidates to bring that policy to reality.

Voting for a demographic rather than the interest of the country is what keeps us divided and frustrated as Americans. It is as sexist to vote for, or against, Clinton because she is female, as it is racist to vote for, or against, Obama because he is black.

Obama himself understands this well enough to distance himself from rhetoric about gender or race. Obama concentrates, instead, on rising above the residue of past politics, and is extremely popular with younger Americans as a direct result. The entire country wants reformative change-- not four more years of either Bill Clinton or George Bush.

[alphaa10-2009]

White Male Demographic-- 2

That is a policy both white and black, male and female voters will find especially beneficial as we recover from seven years of a void of leadership during the Bush and GOP congressional terms.

While Clinton deserves credit for her attempt at a national healthcare plan 14 years ago, Edwards deserves credit for the best-planned approach to national healthcare ever fielded. Of the remaining primary field, Obama seems most likely of the three candidates to bring that policy to reality.

Voting for a demographic rather than the interest of the country is what keeps us divided and frustrated as Americans. It is as sexist to vote for, or against, Clinton because she is female, as it is racist to vote for, or against, Obama because he is black.

Obama himself understands this well enough to distance himself from rhetoric about gender or race. Obama concentrates, instead, on rising above the residue of past politics, and is extremely popular with younger Americans as a direct result. The entire country wants reformative change-- not four more years of either Bill Clinton or George Bush.

[alphaa10-2009]

White Male Demographic-- 2

That is a policy both white and black, male and female voters will find especially beneficial as we recover from seven years of a void of leadership during the Bush and GOP congressional terms.

While Clinton deserves credit for her attempt at a national healthcare plan 14 years ago, Edwards deserves credit for the best-planned approach to national healthcare ever fielded. Of the remaining primary field, Obama seems most likely of the three candidates to bring that policy to reality.

Voting for a demographic rather than the interest of the country is what keeps us divided and frustrated as Americans. It is as sexist to vote for, or against, Clinton because she is female, as it is racist to vote for, or against, Obama because he is black.

Obama himself understands this well enough to distance himself from rhetoric about gender or race. Obama concentrates, instead, on rising above the residue of past politics, and is extremely popular with younger Americans as a direct result. The entire country wants reformative change-- not four more years of either Bill Clinton or George Bush.

[nggr]

oooooh!
I love it when they split everyone up into racial catagories!
Its so exciting!
Who''s whitey gonna vote for?
Who''s the niggs baby this election?
what about the kikes?
or the wopps?
the wopp vote has to get some attention sooner or later.

[kmccliment]

March 15th at Barry''''s house:

Ring, Ring: Hello this is Barry. Barry this Rev.W. Who the F**K do you think you are denouncing my comments yesterday. I put you where you are and now your going to turn your back on me? But, Rev.W I thought you said I could lie. Barry not about me! Now here is what your going to do. Tuesday you will go before the nation and defend our church and me, you better sound convincing or I''''ll spill the beans. Yes sir I''''m sorry Rev. W.... Click...