Congratulations Barack Obama!

[WPB Dawg Fan]

You ran a great campaign and won both the popular vote and the electoral vote. You are the undisputed winner and deserve to have the full support of the nation over the next 4 years. No matter who we all voted for, this is OUR country and the only way to make it better is to go past all the partisanship and work together!

 

Good luck on that!

 

The first part is totally sincere...but I am sure you noticed the sarcasm on the last line. The reason should be clear to anyone who is not walking around with blinders on.

 

Last night, as I watched CNN (NOT FOX) I heard them announce an interesting stat (and yes, I am a stat man).

 

96% of blacks voted for Barack Obama!!! Anyone surprised? I know I'm not.

 

So why am I here today talking about this stat? Simple....I challenge anyone to tell me that while every other segment of the population voted for Obama in the 50-68% range....that the fact 96% of blacks voted for him was NOT due to prejudice!!!

 

This election has been dancing around the 'prejudice' topic since it Obama announced his candidacy. Trouble is, the ONLY angle it was approached was "Will the WHITES vote for a BLACK MAN?" At no time was the question, or the consequences, of the reverse discussed.

 

96%!!! That number included BOTH Democrats and Republicans. I don't care what color you are...or what gender you are...or what religion you are....no segment of the population is EVER 96% in agreement unless some sort of prejudice is in play!!! There is NO WAY that color was not a MAJOR factor in this race....just not like the media wanted to portray it.

 

The sad fact is that the media will not talk about it nor or pretty much ever. They don't want to be seen as prejudice!!! Ironic, isn't it!!!

 

Anyway...water under the bridge. He is the president-elect...and as an American I will support him. At least as long as he does what is best for America!

[Pumpkin Eater]

I don't see a problem with it at all. Would you really expect them NOT to vote for the best candidate, who just so happens to be the first serious contender to be the first black president? Really?

[Guest Aloysius]

I challenge anyone to tell me that while every other segment of the population voted for Obama in the 50-68% range

Exit polls: 78% of Jews voted for Obama

[WPB Dawg Fan]

I don't see a problem with it at all. Would you really expect them NOT to vote for the best candidate, who just so happens to be the first serious contender to be the first black president? Really?

 

So you are saying that 96% women should have voted for Hillary if she had been on the ticket no matter their beliefs or political affiliations?

 

It is OK with you (and apparently everybody else) that a minority can demonstrate prejudice to this level and it NOT at least be recognized for what it is?

 

Being a minority does NOT give you carte blanch. ALL Americans should be held to the same standard...and if we question a white man's reasoning in voting for McCain (as the media did often enough based on race), then shouldn't we ask the same questions of the minority, especially when the numbers support the potential for a prejudicial decision on their part, based solely in many cases on race?

 

Al...good number, but 78% is not 96%! Not by a long shot!!!

 

It is called REVERSE DISCRIMINATION. Now, I believe Obama is the rightful president and am not calling into question his victory...but this aspect of it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

 

How is it we as a nation have become so caught up in PC that we can't even talk about prejudice unless it involves what a White does to a black?

[Guest Aloysius]

Al...good number, but 78% is not 96%! Not by a long shot!!!

Is 88% better?

 

That's the percentage of African-Americans who voted for John Kerry in 2004.

[Pumpkin Eater]

I'm just saying it will be a good thing in the long run. The black people have realized that they are indeed a vital part of this country. They realized that the "man" is not holding them down. If a black man can go from poverty, without his dad being around, to the President of the United States, they have no more excuses as to why they can't become something better. I'm glad they got behing Obama and helped get him elected. Now we can put the racial history of the country before 50 years ago behind us.

[WPB Dawg Fan]

I'm just saying it will be a good thing in the long run. The black people have realized that they are indeed a vital part of this country. They realized that the "man" is not holding them down. If a black man can go from poverty, without his dad being around, to the President of the United States, they have no more excuses as to why they can't become something better. I'm glad they got behing Obama and helped get him elected. Now we can put the racial history of the country before 50 years ago behind us.

 

THAT I agree with 100%!!!

 

I hope that this is the beginning of the end of the blame game and the realization that if you go to school, study hard, work hard, and better yourself...it doesn't matter where you came from or what your background is!!! THAT would be great!!!

[Guest Aloysius]

According to the AP, exit polls also had two-thirds of Hispanic voters going for Obama.

 

I'm sure that some African-Americans voted for Obama because he's black. If a Jewish or Hispanic American ran for president, I'm sure that some people in those ethnic groups would do the same.

 

But I think numbers like 96%, 88%, 78%, and 67% suggest something entirely different: namely, that a lot of minority voters are scared of the Republican party.

 

And the GOP isn't helping things by having their candidates talk about real Americans and putting their minority outreach operations in the hands of people like George Allen (!)

[dencyguy]

I'm just saying it will be a good thing in the long run. The black people have realized that they are indeed a vital part of this country. They realized that the "man" is not holding them down. If a black man can go from poverty, without his dad being around, to the President of the United States, they have no more excuses as to why they can't become something better. I'm glad they got behing Obama and helped get him elected. Now we can put the racial history of the country before 50 years ago behind us.

 

THAT I agree with 100%!!!

 

I hope that this is the beginning of the end of the blame game and the realization that if you go to school, study hard, work hard, and better yourself...it doesn't matter where you came from or what your background is!!! THAT would be great!!!

 

I agree. Someone on CNN--I think it was Roland Martin--pointed out that if a black kid wanted to be a doctor, his parents could point to plenty of black doctors and say, "Just be like him." The same for lawyers and other professions. And now there is a role model in politics.

 

As for playing the blame game, I'm not sure how much of that is a reality and how much is a perception of reality. I mean, sure, we all know a guy who knows a guy who knows a black guy who doesn't do anything and expects things handed to him, but we also all know a guy who knows a guy who knows a white guy who dropped out of school, ended up getting a good job in a factory that closed, and now blames Mexicans for the fact that he can't get a job, ignoring a lack of education and non-specific job skills.

 

I work at a public college; I've got plenty of students--black and white--who are willing to do the work that they need to do to get a good education and a good job. And I've had plenty of students--black and white--who simply want to show up, get their grade, and then have their new boss meet them in the parking lot after graduation. That doesn't necessarily mean that one group is more motivated than the other, it simply means that if I have two white kids out of twenty who cheat on a paper and two black kids out of fifteen who do, there will be plenty of people who will, on the one side, talk about underrepresentation and systematic racism, and plenty who will say, "See, 13% of the black kids cheated, as opposed to 10% of the white kids! That just goes to show how lazy the black kids are!"

 

It would be naive to imagine that one presidential election is going to undo history--it can't, and it probably shouldn't--but it's a nice step in the right direction.

 

Dennis

If that makes any sense.

[WPB Dawg Fan]

According to the AP, exit polls also had two-thirds of Hispanic voters going for Obama.

 

I'm sure that some African-Americans voted for Obama because he's black. If a Jewish or Hispanic American ran for president, I'm sure that some people in those ethnic groups would do the same.

 

But I think numbers like 96%, 88%, 78%, and 67% suggest something entirely different: namely, that a lot of minority voters are scared of the Republican party.

 

And the GOP isn't helping things by having their candidates talk about real Americans and putting their minority outreach operations in the hands of people like George Allen (!)

 

I agree the GOP has a lot of issues. As I have said in my previous visits to this forum...I think BOTH parties have a lot of issues. I literally HATE the party system...as it is by nature divisive and polarizing...and with only 2 parties it is anti-productive.

 

With that said...I think that while you may be correct in some of what you are saying...the premise of this thread still holds true.

 

If you have ever been involved in any kind of polling/balloting/consensus gathering initiative, it is relatively easy to get 75%, and even 80% can be achieved with little effort...but for every percentage point above 90% it is exponentially more difficult.

 

I fully expected 90%! That would have been a number that could be explained. But 96% is simply too close to a unanimous decision for MILLIONS OF PEOPLE to be considered an unbiased/unprejudiced result.

 

Still, as I said, it does not taint this victory for Obama in any way. It is more the fact that it is being considered taboo to talk about it and that the media is avoiding it like the plague that bothers me. It is a topic that should be addressed, if for no other reason that to do what you have attempted...to explain it away for the public who find it concerning.

 

And Dennis, it makes PERFECT sense.

[dencyguy]

But I think numbers like 96%, 88%, 78%, and 67% suggest something entirely different: namely, that a lot of minority voters are scared of the Republican party.

 

Then that's not particularly healthy, either. Although the way you phrased that did make me chuckle as envisioned young black and Hispanic men crossing the street out of fear of an old white guy and a white chick walking down the same sidewalk.

 

Dennis

Gosh-darn it, give me your wallet, donchaknow.

[Pumpkin Eater]

Good point, Al. It was a bad idea of them to isolate middle american small towns (where minorities are few, and often not very welcome) as the REAL America.

 

Dency, I'm not talking about undoing history, I'mt talking about taking a huge step to healing old, festering wounds. Obama is the gauze that was placed on the wound, now it's up to America to take care of it and let it heal.

[WPB Dawg Fan]

The funny thing is...the responses I am getting in this thread are much like what I expected.

 

It is almost assumed that I am mad at the blacks for voting the way they did. I AM NOT!!! In fact I agree that it makes perfect sense!!!

 

What I am questioning is the lack of unbiased and comprehensive reporting. If 96% of whites voted for the white guy...this would be plastered all over the news.

 

THAT is an issue. The fact that PC is more important now than proper journalism.

[Guest Aloysius]

The funny thing is...the responses I am getting in this thread are much like what I expected.

 

It is almost assumed that I am mad at the blacks for voting the way they did. I AM NOT!!! In fact I agree that it makes perfect sense!!!

Okay, you called Af-Am voting patterns "prejudice" and "reverse discrimination." Do you see how some people might think you're mad?

What I am questioning is the lack of unbiased and comprehensive reporting. If 96% of whites voted for the white guy...this would be plastered all over the news.

I don't know. I was watching MSNBC most of the evening (their online stream is the most reliable), and they seemed to mention pretty often how much support Obama received from the African-American community. Talked about record turnout & how a last minute Rev. Wright ad in Philly ended up backfiring on the GOP.

 

One of the reasons it wasn't emphasized more last night was because North Carolina wasn't decided before they declared the winner. Had it already been put in the Obama column, you probably would have heard a lot more about your favorite topic.

[WPB Dawg Fan]

Al...I heard it mentioned too...as a GOOD THING! Not as a negative in that it showed a prejudice....like I said, if 96% of the white voters voted for McCain...it would have been all about how WHITE AMERICA HAS NOT CHANGED! yada yada yada....but this is THEY ALL GOT BEHIND THEIR CANDIDATE, YAHOO!!!

 

See the difference?

[Guest Aloysius]

Yes, I see the difference. And because you claim not to be bothered by it, I won't explain why the two are completely different.

[osusev]

I can see your point WPB, it does have some merit. There does exist a "black fear" of being labeled a racist that african americans have used to balance and in some insances over balance perception in their favor.

 

I do think that figure may look statiscally different than what is really represents. African american voters typically vote democratic in high percentage but in this particular election the TURNOUT by the democratic party (the GOP discourages african american turnout from large urban areas) was what shot this thru the roof.

 

Obama turn out ground game is what skewed that percentage heavily not necessarily reverse racism picking a black candidate over the white one.

[WPB Dawg Fan]

Yes, I see the difference. And because you claim not to be bothered by it, I won't explain why the two are completely different.

 

No, please do!

 

Why is it different?

 

Whites get behind a white candidate.

Blacks get behind a black candidate.

 

Both are predicated on race. Both are inherently prejudicial. Both are taking race ahead of policy or belief.

 

One is bad, the other glorious. One is keeping the other down...the other is emancipating its people.

 

The only difference is the PC perception.

 

And sev..I agree the turnout was key...and may have skewed the numbers....but the more voters you get the more unlikely a consensus is...anyway...I think it is being under-reported or I should say mis-reported by the media mainly in fear of being labeled....and that is a sad state of affairs.

 

If we want to put prejudice to bed once and for all, we need to report and react EXACTLY THE SAME NO MATTER WHO DOES WHAT!!! To do otherwise is to propagate it!

[WPB Dawg Fan]

I think we have to step out of our white maleness for a second. Hillary backers were passionate to a fault almost, but I understand. But black children truly have grown up believing there was a ceiling, there were things they just couldn't dream of. We're talking about 232 years of white male presidents, mostly older and stodgy. We're talking about white male Congress and white male boardrooms. We're talking about an ongoing suspicion of softer, gentler racism.

 

The good news was that Obama won a majority, which doesn't always happen. He won a clear popular vote, which Bush never did (52-46). He also won men, women, and people of each and every age bracket except 65 and older (shocker). He won biggest among under 45 and the most educated (shocker). He won the suburbs, which is really big news. He really only lost to older and less educated whites, the deep south, and rural America.

 

Again... shocker.

 

I think America moved on together, united... and a fairly specific demographic chose to stay behind.

Shep, again, you missed the point! It is not the FACT that it was 96%...that was literally to be expected on some level. It is the lack of media attention to it...of "calling blue blue" (notice the PC color).

 

If we are so afraid to comment on this, then it is in fact propagating prejudice. NOT addressing something because it is a black/white issue is continuing the black/white issue...just as much as trying to MAKE something a black/white issue when it's not (like getting fired for doing a bad job and saying it is because of race).

 

That is the issue I am commenting on. Our media is afraid to comment on it.

[Guest mz.]

As long as there are folks out there who think/act/talk like this, we'll see people voting along race lines more often than not.

[WPB Dawg Fan]

As long as there are folks out there who think/act/talk like this, we'll see people voting along race lines more often than not.

 

Saw that, almost responded, but didn't want to give that loser the acknowledgment that he even existed. Was hoping the thread would get deleted!!!

[Guest Aloysius]

I'm afraid I still don't get what you want the media to do, John. Say that black people voted for Obama because he's black, but that it's okay?

 

The problem with that, as I've mentioned, is that 88% of African-American voters went for Kerry in 2004. So that 96% - given alone - is a pretty misleading statistic.

 

Many of those voters would have voted Democratic anyway, so it's hard for a journalist to go out and say, "African-Americans voted for Obama because he's black."

 

I'm sure some did, but I don't get how making broad conclusions about a racial group's motivations helps any.

 

And I agree with Shep's argument above about understanding our society and our nation's past. We've had three African-American US Senators since Reconstruction ended. Three.

 

Not only does that show how amazing yesterday was, but it illuminates why some African-American voters value voting for African-American candidates.

 

If you think that people who look like you have trouble getting elected, wouldn't you do what you could to make sure that that political barrier was knocked down?

 

And what about religious minorities? Was it wrong for a Catholic to vote for Al Smith or JFK because they thought Catholics should have equal rights in this country? Or what about a Mormon supporting Romney because they're sick of religious tolerance?

[We need Tom Tupa]

And the GOP isn't helping things by having their candidates talk about real Americans and putting their minority outreach operations in the hands of people like George Allen (!)

I know! Imagine if the Dems tried running someone like Joe Biden for national office, theyd be kicked to the curb. err...

[Guest Aloysius]

Ha. If only Biden wore a Confederate lapel pin in high school (in California), kept a set of commemorative nooses in his office, and fervently denied that his mom was Jewish.

 

Then we'd have an interesting comparison.

[We need Tom Tupa]

Fine, how about if I just take my shots at the President pro tem? 3rd in line for the Presidency isnt bad.

[Guest Aloysius]

Sure, go ahead. But I'll accuse you of ageist tendencies.

 

You Republicans are just so prejudiced...