But in the mix, not so much.

I think that, as pointed out in the post, many of those are people would not be voting Democratic anyway.

Plus, it's possible (And totally unsupported by any polls that I know of) that historically low-turnout minorities would be more inclined to vote.

A net plus for the left, I'd say.

America has come a long way, but has a long way to go. Being a white male, I am aware of racist attitudes both overt and covert among many of my contemporaries. Many others find such attitudes reprehensible.

It's a very subtle, understated thing. I voted for Obama in the Virginia Democratic primary, and this is in a state that had separate water fountains in my lifetime.

Like I've said in my posts @ Salon and other places: Obama is taking a chance in assuming that a majority of Americans are intelligent, independently thinking human beings.

If he's right, he'll be our next president. If not, well, God help us all...

H. L. Mencken wrote: "No one in this world has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.”

I may be an idealist hoping that race will not be a deciding factor, that our nation has moved beyond that, but time will tell whether the claims that "this country isn't ready for a black president", is true. This phrase has become the argumentative shadow where the closet racists are hiding. While publicly deflecting the question from themselves to "the abstract masses", the closet racists will vote their conscience (sadly) in privacy.

What about sexism? I'd be willing to be an equally alarming portion of the nation (many of the same people who claim racist views) wouldn't be willing to vote for a woman either.

The thing is, I'm not so sure. I'd like to think that Democrats (with 90% of blacks voting Democrat) wouldn't feel this way.

But how do we know this?

People still live in largely segregated communities. And for those that don't, some view people of a different race as "the other" or even "the enemy." And a reluctance to vote for a black man doesn't have to come from blatant, vitriolic hate. It can just come from vague unease.

And vague unease can be enough to sway a person when it comes time to check their ballot.

I live in Kentucky, in a neighborhood that wouldn't be considered backward or racist. And I've been doing voter registration canvassing in some much worse neighborhoods. There is a LOT of racist sentiment by people who claim to not be bigots. At the barbershop, several older men who claimed to be registered Democrats said they just couldn't vote for Obama, and implied race but wouldn't admit it.

The worst instance was this weekend when I was knocking on doors with my Obama button on my jacket. Some guys were standing around, drinking and talking tough. The dialog turned ugly quickly and ended with a guy shouting, "I'll never vote for that man, not because I'm bigoted but because I'm an American."

Hope he soon finds out what it actually means to be an American and that there are a lot of us here and we don't all look alike.

Having watched the primary voting, doesn't an 80% to 90% break for Obama by blacks tend to counteract the knuckle-draggers? And who will be more motivated to go out and vote: knuckle draggers or blacks?

Then, there's the youth vote. I've never believed the hype during past elections that the youth would have a significant impact. But I'm getting a sense this election cycle they may well might have something (FINALLY) to say. What's the knuckle-dragger component of the youth vote? I suspect, not so much.

If I'm Obama, I'll take the black and youth votes and let McCain have the knuckle-draggers.

Hopefully an Obama win in November would strike the first blow to that ugly, backward mindset that infects this country. Its not everyone and not the majority, but that dynamic does seem to have a stranglehold on our politics.

would allow a black man or woman to cure their cancer or save their child from a burning building?

I thought so. Hypocrites.

I think where voters who won't vote for Senator Obama because of his race will have the biggest effect are in those independent voters who can potentially vote for either party.

These are the voters most easily distracted or frightened into voting against their own interests and who really don't know the issues. These are the people who voted for George W. Bush because they thought Al Gore is a dishonest man who thinks he's better than them and that "W" is a great guy they'd like to have a beer with.

These are the people who rely on the Main Stream Media for their news.

If you look at the primary numbers, in many states Obama has been getting more votes than all the Republicans put together. If you then add in say half the Hillary votes and split the other half between people going Republican and staying home, Obama still wins in a landslide. It isn't that race won't be an issue, it is that most will already be voting Republican or staying home. It'll be an issue, just not enough of one to make a difference.

The other reason this won't matter is that many racist/homophobic people stop their hatred of individuals once they "get to know" them. There are racists with minority friends and homophobes with gay friends. When asked about this, they say "Oh, well he's different". Is this a great attitude? No, but I see it quelling much of the casual racism in the general election.

Seriously. This idiocy is rapidly approaching psychosis.

Democrats win by getting Democrats off their fat asses and into the polling booth.

Period.

Anything else is a waste of time, money and effort, and the primary reason Democrats lose.

John Yarmuth of Louisville stood up in 2006, proclaimed himself a Proud Liberal Democrat, and beat the shit out of five-time incumbent and Mitch McConnell pet Anne Northup.

He did it without getting one single vote from a racist, a wingnut, a religioid, or a republican of any kind, shape or form.

He spoke directly to the real Democrats who have always been ignored by DINOs like Hillary, and he drew them to the polls, where they rewarded him with victory.

That's how real Democrats win.