CBS Early Show Video: Fauntroy, Trippi, and Murphy
I appeared on the CBS Early Show Wednesday with Joe Trippi and Mike Murphy. We discussed a just released CBS News poll which indicated that 68 percent of registered voters said the country is ready for a Black President. I was somewhat surprised by the number, which I think is high. The poll is a total reflection of the extent to which Barack Obama has, by the attractiveness of his personality, been able to allay many of the fears Whites have about Blacks. However, it should be noted that this poll is of registered voters, which is a less accurate indicator than those of likely voters.
June 4, 2008 | Permalink
Comments
Why do people keep talking about race? As the song goes;"LET IT BE"!A good bumper sticker in one I have copy rights to; "WHERE WOULD YOU BE WITH OUT SLAVERY?"
Posted by: b.g.johnson | Jul 5, 2008 1:28:57 PM
Monica, I must make a correction in that I should have stated 38% of the 68% of white respondents as opposed to 30%. Also, I appreciate your position. Indeed, there are many respectable perspectives on this whole issue. I hope more perspectives will be posted on this great website.
Posted by: Leon | Jun 5, 2008 12:44:25 PM
Monica, rather than expressions of lies, it may simply mean that 30% of the 68% of white respondents in the survey want to believe that the country is ready for an African American President, even as they actually conceal some personal qualms about such a possibility. As long as such qualms are not driven by racial hatred, I believe they can be conquered, especially the qualms of fear and misunderstanding. So I still look upon this as a big positive. For me, it is an indication that they understand that they should think better and that Barack Obama, by the sheer power of his talents and personality, forces them to consider such a possibility. That’s how the world works, Monica. The history of the world is replete with examples of single individuals igniting revolutionary changes. I happen to believe that Barack Obama is one of our era’s singular, history changing individuals.
Furthermore, I would not dismiss all of the 32% who said the country is not ready for a black President. If they were answering out of fear or misunderstanding about black folk, they can be turned around in the next five months. The genius of Barack Obama is that he possesses the “audacity of hope” to believe such a turnaround is possible. Had he been disquieted about such a possibility he would not have completed one of the biggest upsets in political history, nor would he be just one step away from becoming the next President of the United States.
By the way, I live in an all white neighborhood where only two families moved after we moved into the neighborhood. The other 98% of our white neighbors stayed and have treated us with kindness and friendship. Yes racism reared its ugly head (that’s why we hired a real estate lawyer) and others expressed qualms about our moving in the neighborhood. But we prevailed, and now we live peacefully in a very nice area of town.
Unfortunately, confrontation is a part of life, and certainly, we, as a black people, have been forced to confront a lot more cruelty and pain than other ethnic or racial groups in this country: slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, lynching, segregation, and a host of problems even after the passage of the Civil Rights laws of the 1960s. Yet “we rise.” Our climb toward equality and acceptance has been slow and torturous, but I thank God that we are better than we were. I believe white folks are also better than they were. How much better? Well, we will get some indication in November. Monica, like Barack, I believe we may be surprised about how far all of us have come, even as we recognize that we still have a ways to go.
Posted by: Leon | Jun 5, 2008 1:22:26 AM
Listen Leon. We still live in America. 68% of the white people polled said that the country is ready for a Black President.
Did they mean it? Or were they lying?
Someone is willing to vote for a black man to be president but doesn't want to live next to a black family. Heaven forbid five or six black families move into the neighborhood. That's America.
If that many white people were truly honest in their belief that America was really for a black president would there be a continued need for affirmative action or the EEOC? Can a white person vote for a black man to be POTUS one day, and pass over a qualified brotha or sistah to give a promotion to a less experienced white acquaintance the next? That's America.
If two out three white people were really for a black president, would majority white juries continue the present sentencing disparities. That's America.
I think a more accurate estimate is about 30% . Divide that by half to get a real idea of those who think that Obama is the Black man for whom they would vote.
Posted by: Monica | Jun 4, 2008 7:18:34 PM
Michael, as I indicated in my posting on Obama’s Trinity decision, I do not believe that hatred stoked by racism will emerge as Obama’s major obstacle to becoming President of the United States. This is, indeed, a new era. So I believe the 68% number is probably accurate. Nevertheless, the real obstacles for an Obama presidency, fear and misunderstanding, are potent barriers that Obama must overcome, which are barriers that are much easier to overcome than hatred. I believe he will effectively address the fear and misunderstanding that exist among some voters and become our next President.
Posted by: Leon | Jun 4, 2008 6:27:43 PM
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