Why aren't, according to the polls, blacks supporting Barack overwhelmingly?

Question

A quote from the New York Times:

"But while many whites embrace Mr. Obama's melting pot background, it remains profoundly unsettling for some blacks who argue that he is distant from the struggles and cultural identities of most black Americans. The black columnist Stanley Crouch has said, ''When black Americans refer to Obama as 'one of us,' I do not know what they are talking about.''

Ms. Dickerson echoed that sentiment.

''I've got nothing but love for the brother, but we don't have anything in common,'' said Ms. Dickerson, who wrote recently about Mr. Obama in Salon, the online magazine. ''His father was African. His mother was a white woman. He grew up with white grandparents.

''Now, I'm willing to adopt him,'' Ms. Dickerson continued. ''He married black. He acts black. But there's a lot of distance between black Africans and African-Americans.''

You can find the full article here: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9905E3DE123FF931A35751C0A9619C8B63

Answer 1

It could just be that they're siding with Hillary because she's the more familiar, and thus more comfortable, and also more experienced candidate. Which has very little to do with him, and a lot to do with her. If Obama wants to beat her for the nomination, he's going to have to come right out and say, "I am a better choice than Hillary Clinton because... " and then fill in the blank with a reason Hillary can't counter. At the moment, I can't see him doing that anytime soon. And that's not really a mark against him, more an admission of how tough a candidate Hillary really is. If she wasn't in the race, he'd probably be leading it. His biggest mistake may have been timing: Running too soon in his career, and at the same time as Hillary.

Answer 2

If we didnt like him he wouldnt be a top contender. In reality Obama is getting the majority of the black vote nationally. This Debra Dickerson story was writtern before he entered the race and never held any weight. We have never judged a black person by thier heritage or racial mixture.Dont forget he got to the Senate with over 90% of the African American vote OVER another "African American"..The mainstream media has no clue on whats going on in the black community these days..

Even then what makes you think we would ALL vote for Obama simply because hes black? That would be, well..kinda shallow...

Answer 3

I find this whole concept annoying and insulting to black people in general. In order to think that they should naturally be getting behind Obama just because of his ethnicity is to suggest they don't vote responsibly or care about the issues of the day and who can best solve those issues. This suggests they are a one trick pony act who aren't smart enough to look past race. That isn't true at all and I think it's insulting to suggest it is.

Answer 4

Because there is a culture of victimization which is rampant in any minority culture . . . It's always the idiot that gets on national t.v. I don't know for sure, but I would bet money that the media finds the one woman with eight kids by seven different fathers living in public housing who barely has command of the English language to interview . . . meanwhile, thirty educated African Americans hurry by on their way to work.

Answer 5

Some Blacks do not support Barack Obama because they feel that he is still inexperienced.

VOTE for your choice as US President on my 360 degrees blog and know who will likely win.

Answer 6

Don't you find it a bit odd that the blacks are paying more attention to his color/heritage than to the issues he supports?

That seems quite shallow to me.

Answer 7

Its sad that hes subjected to racial analysis by black people. Its actually very ugly.

Answer 8

why should they? where is the rule that if you"re black you have to vote black. the guy is a muslim and was taught in muslim extremist schools. the blacks that i know are christians and would never vote for him and they didn't vote for gore. alot of blacks did vote for gore though ,even though he is the honkiest honkey there is.