posted September 25, 2008 11:55 AM            

WASHINGTON (AP) — Deep-seated racial misgivings could cost Barack Obama the White House if the election is close, according to an AP-Yahoo News poll that found one-third of white Democrats harbor negative views toward blacks — many calling them "lazy," "violent," responsible for their own troubles.

The poll, conducted with Stanford University, suggests that the percentage of voters who may turn away from Obama because of his race could easily be larger than the final difference between the candidates in 2004 — about two and one-half percentage points.

Certainly, Republican John McCain has his own obstacles: He's an ally of an unpopular president and would be the nation's oldest first-term president. But Obama faces this: 40 percent of all white Americans hold at least a partly negative view toward blacks, and that includes many Democrats and independents.

More than a third of all white Democrats and independents — voters Obama can't win the White House without — agreed with at least one negative adjective about blacks, according to the survey, and they are significantly less likely to vote for Obama than those who don't have such views.

Such numbers are a harsh dose of reality in a campaign for the history books. Obama, the first black candidate with a serious shot at the presidency, accepted the Democratic nomination on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, a seminal moment for a nation that enshrined slavery in its Constitution.

"There are a lot fewer bigots than there were 50 years ago, but that doesn't mean there's only a few bigots," said Stanford political scientist Paul Sniderman who helped analyze the exhaustive survey.

The pollsters set out to determine why Obama is locked in a close race with McCain even as the political landscape seems to favor Democrats. President Bush's unpopularity, the Iraq war and a national sense of economic hard times cut against GOP candidates, as does that fact that Democratic voters outnumber Republicans.

The findings suggest that Obama's problem is close to home — among his fellow Democrats, particularly non-Hispanic white voters. Just seven in 10 people who call themselves Democrats support Obama, compared to the 85 percent of self-identified Republicans who back McCain.

The survey also focused on the racial attitudes of independent voters because they are likely to decide the election.

Lots of Republicans harbor prejudices, too, but the survey found they weren't voting against Obama because of his race. Most Republicans wouldn't vote for any Democrat for president — white, black or brown.

Not all whites are prejudiced. Indeed, more whites say good things about blacks than say bad things, the poll shows. And many whites who see blacks in a negative light are still willing or even eager to vote for Obama.

posted September 25, 2008 12:05 PM            

Even Whoopie Goldberg was under the wrong impression that the constitution was enshrined in slavery -- in the show "The View" when she interviewed McCain. McCain should have shred that big mouth to pieces.

Check this out: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/michael-m-bates/2008/09/20/ap-us-nation-en shrined-slavery-its-constitution

quote:

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Did the United States, as the piece contends, enshrine slavery in its Constitution?

According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, "enshrine" means "to enclose in or as if in a shrine" or "to preserve or cherish as sacred." Over at thesaurus.com, synonyms for the word are "cherish, consecrate, idolize, sanctify."

In a 2002 Heritage Foundation article, Dr. Matthew Spaulding writes:

John Adams opposed slavery his entire life as a "foul contagion in the human character" and "an evil of colossal magnitude." James Madison called it "the most oppressive dominion ever exercised by man over man."

In 1987, former aide to President Johnson, Jack Valenti penned a commentary for The New York Times. His purpose was to challenge comments on the Constitution made by Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, a man placed on the court by Valenti's boss. Writing about the Constitutional Convention, Valenti noted:

Nevertheless, white-haired old George Mason of Virginia was openly and passionately abolitionist. He wanted all slaves freed. Gouverneur Morris of Pennsylvania, stumping heavily on his wooden leg, vented his anger. His words rang through the hall. ''The curse of heaven on the states where it [ slavery ] prevailed,'' he thundered.

That doesn't sound as though slavery were cherished or santified by at least some of the Founding Fathers. Rather, it was acknowledged as an evil, an issue that needed to be avoided to ensure the building of a nation.

As Valenti observed:

By first building a nation, the Founders, though they did not know it at the time, conspired to form a general public spirit that 70 years later imploded. When the debris had been cleared, there was no more slavery. A metastasis - ancient, mean, ugly -had finally, providentially, been cut from the heart of the country.

And the document that had tolerated the omission in the first place was the life-giving sustenance for a political and social contract that had endured. Survival of an idea, a governing process, is not an inconsiderable triumph.

Frederick Douglass, in an 1852 speech, intoned:

Fellow-citizens! there is no matter in respect to which, the people of the North have allowed themselves to be so ruinously imposed upon, as that of the pro-slavery character of the Constitution. In that instrument I hold there is neither warrant, license, nor sanction of the hateful thing; but, interpreted as it ought to be interpreted, the Constitution is a GLORIOUS LIBERTY DOCUMENT. Read its preamble, consider its purposes. Is slavery among them? Is it at the gateway? or is it in the temple? It is neither.

And later he told his audience:

Now, take the constitution according to its plain reading, and I defy the presentation of a single pro-slavery clause in it. On the other hand it will be found to contain principles and purposes, entirely hostile to the existence of slavery.

The point of all this is that, contrary to the AP article, our Constitution did not enshrine slavery. The practice was in no way cherished or sanctified. Acknowledging that it was reluctantly tolerated so that the nation could be formed is closer to the truth.

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posted September 25, 2008 01:00 PM            

Perceptions are relative. Unfortunately,they often vary by race

I do believe that racism is a big problem. I believe that we can't just deny it. We can't have our heads under the sand and wish that it will go away. We have to acknowledge it and confront it. We have to resolve it. I have already talked about possible solutions in how we can resolve racial issues.

I do believe that subtle racism is hard to notice and acknowledge unlike overt racism. Subtle racism acknowledged by some can be viewed as racial hypochondria. That's often how many blacks are viewed as. I definitely see the same perceptions when it comes to me...even in this forum.

I don't hate white people at all. I don't hate any kind of people regardless of their ethnic background,religion,sexual orientation,gender,etc. I expressed my belief of unity,universal love,and tolerance of diversity in my essay and poetry that I posted in this forum. I also laid out possible solutions to how we can resolve ethnic relations issues.

I have talked about the issues of ethnic relations in our country. It's not about trying to divide us. I believe that pointing out things isn't dividing but waking people up. I don't believe that ignorance is bliss.
We should discuss about our differences and our similarities. Learning about our similarites can help us find common ground. We could create a multiethnic,multicultural week which would be about all ethnic groups getting together, teach about our cultures and way of life that would even include our cuisine. There could be multicultural,multiethnic exhibits. We could watch movies with interethnic theme like "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner","Guess Who","Soulman","Jungle Fever",and others. There could be books about multiethnic people and interethnic relationships like "Love In Black and White" by interethnic couple, Mark and Gail Mathanabe. Music based on multiethnic relations could be played like "Ebony and Ivory" by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, "Black and White by Michael Jackson",and "Take Away the Colour" by Ice MC.
There could be an annual survey in regards to ethnic relations including questions like how many know people of certain ethnic groups, how many people go to gatherings,functions that involve different ethnic groups, things like food. We could also ask things about interethnic friendships/dating/relationships. Questions about negative things should be asked including experiences of ethnic bigotry and discrimination. We could ask about fears and resentments in regards to ethnic groups. I also feel that questions of affirmative action and reparations can be part of the survey. I also believe that ethnic stereotypes need to be addressed during the survey to see how many people believe in them. After all,ethnic stereotypes tend to be offensive and they factor into ethnic prejudices. I also believe that we should make the June 12 Loving vs. Virginia Supreme Court Ruling (that struck down all interracial marriage laws in USA) the day that multiethnic,multicultural week begins. We can discuss the importance of that ruling and how it has impacted interethnic relations.
These surveys can be done anonymously too. I feel that gaining empathy and tolerance can only be done through actual experiencing. I feel that you have to walk a mile in a person's moccasins to understand them. That's just my view. Maybe that's how we can bring ethnic groups together.

I hate when people accuse people of hating certain people for pointing out issues of racism as well as other issues in our country. I did post things with urls to back my argument that racism is an issue in our country. A lot of people would argue that we have screwed up foreign policies..especially under the present Bush administration.

I also hate self righteous hypocrisy that drives people to treat others badly because they think that they are better than others,and they hide that behind a cloak of religion,values,morals,and ethics. That's a big problem in our country. Those issues cover not only racism, but also sexism,homophobia,xenophobia,and religious intolerance as well as views that are divergent from the so-called norms which are relative and based on the biases of society.

There is one thing that I believe in the bible even though I am not a Christian. My religious beliefs with Neopaganism,New Age,and Unitarian Universalism.

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"