It's Not About Race -- Unless I Say It Is!

[kpete]

It's Not About Race -- Unless I Say It Is!
by Nate Silver @ 12:37 PM
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Color me a bit confused. Did the same person who once wrote a book entitled The Neglected Voter: White Men and the Democratic Dilemma also just write an editorial entitled Note to Liberal Elite: It's Not About Race?

Anyway, you come here for data-based argumentation, so let me give you some of that first -- and then we can come back to Real Clear Politics' David Paul Kuhn, the author of both those pieces. This is Obama's approval rating by racial group since the start of his term, as broken down by Gallup:


http://www.gallup.com/poll/124922/Presidential-Job-Approval-Center.aspx

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2010/03/its-not-about-race-unless-i-say-it-is.html

[el_bryanto]

1. Tricky

I can think of lots of reasons to be down on Obama that have nothing to do with race. Particularly if one is of a conservatoid mind set.

Bryant

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

2. Question: Anyone have that chart for Clinton?

It would be interesting to see.

A lot of things about race and Obama are a little less obvious than they seem. Looking at that chart one would go, "Well, he's black. Makes sense."

But maybe not. IIRC, Kerry did as well with black voters as Obama, though Obama got some additional black turnout. I have no reason to assume that black non-voters disliked Kerry, so Kerry might have enjoyed almost the same high and consistent level of black support.