This Just In: Obama Still Black

The Washington Post has a rather lengthy article on Obama and race and the race for the presidency.

In separate interviews, 10 white supporters who attended the Tampa fundraising rally talked about their perceptions of the dicey realm of race and its impact on Obama's electability. Though they admire his character, achievements, charisma and political philosophy, many expressed fear that racial prejudice might stymie his campaign.

Okay, that's an interesting topic. The article goes on with this finding that makes me somewhat optimistic on race relations in this country:

Once, polls in races between a white and black candidate were wildly unreliable. White voters have had a history of telling pollsters they will vote along their party lines when faced with a black candidate; then, in the privacy of the booth, they cross party lines to vote for the white candidate.

...

[T]he phenomenon seems to be fading, according to a Pew Research Center paper, "Can You Trust What Polls Say About Obama's Electoral Prospects?"

In 2006, when white Republican Bob Corker beat black Democrat Harold Ford Jr. to represent Tennessee in the Senate, Corker's lead was overstated in the polls. Whites voted for Ford in largely the numbers they had told pollsters they would.

Mystery Pollster picks up a recent survey conducted by Quinnipiac University:

[B]elieve it or not, not all Americans know that Obama is black. Here is the result released just last Friday from a national sample of adults surveyed by Quinnipiac University (Q33):

What race do you consider Barack Obama?

2% White
45% Black
0% Asian
7% Mixed/other
9% Mixed Black and White
37% Don't know

Aside from the mixed up mixed race responses (the question was open-ended), the news is in. Barack Obama is sill Black.

Quinnipiac Poll here

In other news, Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.