More than a third of all white Democrats agreed with at least one negative adjective about blacks, raising the question of how much racial misgivings could count in the presidential race if the election is close, according to an Associated Press/Ipsos poll conduct Aug. 27-Sept. 5.
But the poll also found other non-racial factors contributing to Barack Obama's difficulties in breaking away from opponent John McCain.
AP says the poll's statistical model indicates that Obama's support could be as much as 6 points higher if there were no racial prejudice. Among the third of white Democrats who agreed with at least one negative adjective, 58 percent said they would vote for Barack Obama.
"There are a lot fewer bigots than there were 50 years ago, but that doesn't mean there's only a few bigots," said Paul Sniderman, a political scientist at Stanford University with whom the poll was conducted.
The pollsters said they had set out to determine why Obama is locked in a close race with McCain "even as the political landscape seems to favor Democrats."
Among the findings, other than race, was Obama's problems among fellow Democrats, particularly non-Hispanic whites, where just seven out of ten self-described Democrats support Obama compared to the 85 percent of Republicans who support McCain. Three in 10 Democrats don't trust Obama as an agent of change and say they will support McCain. Doubts about Obama's competency also surfaced in the poll.
Presented with choices of positive and negative adjectives about blacks, 20 percent of all whites said said the word "violent" applied, 22 percent agreed with "boastful," 29 percent "complaining," 13 percent "lazy" and 11 percent "irresponsible."
More than a quarter of white Democrats said that "if blacks would only try harder, they could be just as well off as whites."
There's an article today on the subject of race and polls in the Detroit Free Press, "Race Issue Gives Pollsters Fits."
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