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JLEW1818
11/5/2008, 02:36 PM
By CONNIE CASS – 18 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Barack Obama was winning handily among women, blacks and Hispanics, while whites supported John McCain, according to preliminary exit polls.

Obama also was the overwhelming choice of the one in 10 voters who went to the polls for their first time Tuesday — a racially diverse group of mostly twentysomethings, half of whom call themselves Democrats.

Just over half of white voters overall were backing McCain — a group that had favored President Bush over John Kerry by 17 percentage points in 2004.

McCain, 72, also got support from just over half of senior citizens, coveted for their vigilance in going to the polls.

McCain also drew strength from white, working-class voters, exit polls showed. Whites who haven't finished college were giving him heavy support, but short of the 23-point margin by which Bush won their vote in 2004.

Overall, Obama's bid to become the nation's first black president drew the votes of more than half of women, two-thirds of Hispanic voters and nearly all blacks who went to the polls. A young and dynamic candidate at age 47, Obama was winning the under-30 vote by a 2-1 margin.

Women voters are typically the key to a Democratic presidential victory, and Obama was pulling well over half their votes. He held a narrower edge over McCain among all men, according to the preliminary national survey, which doesn't show how candidates performed in state-by-state voting for president.

First-time voters were key to Obama's strategy, and they were voting for him by a 3-1 margin. Young voters tend to favor Democrats, but not in such high numbers. Four years ago, Kerry won 53 percent of their votes.

One in five of the new voters was black, almost twice the proportion of blacks among voters overall. Another one in five of the new voters was Hispanic. About two-thirds of them were under 30 years old.

A third of first-time voters this year said they were political independents; only about one in 5 was a Republican.

Twenty-six-year-old Jennifer Sunderlin, who typically votes Republican, said she didn't stick with her usual party this election year.

"Don't tell my Dad, but I voted for Barack Obama," said Sunderlin, of Albany, N.Y. She said she was turned off by McCain's choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.

She wasn't alone. Four in 10 voters overall said Palin was an important factor in deciding who to vote for, and this group leaned slightly toward Obama. But nine in 10 Republicans calling Palin's selection important were voting for McCain.

Andrew Greenaway, 18, said he was swayed by all "the buzz" about Obama in his dorm at Cleveland State University. "All my buddies told me to vote for Obama," he said.

About a third of voters said the quality that mattered most was the candidates' ability to bring about change — the mantra of Obama's campaign — while a fifth focused on the candidates' experience, McCain's strong point.

"I don't think Obama knows what he's doing," said Craig Burnett, 55, a Republican in Hagerstown, Md. "He's too young and inexperienced."

More than half strongly disapproved of the way Bush has handled the job, and they overwelmingly voted for Obama.

Two-thirds of voters worried about how to pay for health care and at least as many feared terrorists will attack the U.S. again. But the economy weighed heaviest on their minds.

Six in 10 voters picked it as the most important issue facing the nation, according to preliminary polling. None of the four other issues listed by exit pollsters — energy, Iraq, terrorism and health care — was picked by more than one in 10 people.

Almost everyone agreed the economy's condition is either "poor" or "not good." And more than eight in 10 said they were worried about the economy's direction over the next year.

Half of voters said they're very worried the current economic crisis will harm their families, and another third were somewhat worried about that. One reason: about two-thirds of voters have stock market investments, such as retirement funds.

Yet there was room for optimism — nearly half predict the economy will get better over the next year.

In a historic year, when Obama could become the first black president, nine out of 10 voters said the race of the candidates wasn't important to their votes. Almost as many said age wasn't important, a nod to 72-year-old McCain.

The results were from exit polling by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International for The Associated Press and television networks conducted in 300 precincts nationally. The preliminary data was based on 10,747 voters, including telephone polling of 2,407 people who voted early, and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 1 percentage point for the entire sample, smaller for subgroups.


So why did the majority of blacks and hispanics vote for Obama?

He won the election on the poor and black/Hispanic vote. Clearly

So it looks like it will be hard for a Republican to ever win again.

My Opinion Matters
11/5/2008, 02:58 PM
You mean blacks, women, and hispanics can vote now?! :eek:

OMG! NOT IN MY AMERICA! :rolleyes:

My Opinion Matters
11/5/2008, 03:00 PM
What's next? Letting Jews vote too?

Gandalf_The_Grey
11/5/2008, 03:02 PM
Us poor downtrodden white folks will just have to stick together next election..and make sure we get the Old, Rich, White guy we deserve!!!

Gandalf_The_Grey
11/5/2008, 03:03 PM
What's next? Letting Jews vote too?

I should neg spek you for even making a joke about that...the Jews would have chosen Nader over the Messiah!

My Opinion Matters
11/5/2008, 03:04 PM
I should neg spek you for even making a joke about that...the Jews would have chosen Nader over the Messiah!

Double burn.

JLEW1818
11/5/2008, 03:05 PM
Going to be hard to get a republican ever again.

Gandalf_The_Grey
11/5/2008, 03:07 PM
Congress, The House, and the Supreme Court have a few spares left

The Maestro
11/5/2008, 03:13 PM
Personally, I have just about had enough of party politics. If a literal donkey ran as a democrat and a real elephant took on a Republican race, some folks would vote for them for the mere fact they had the D or R after their name. It's so stupid and doesn't mean much once they get elected.

But, unfortunately, most people will stick with the party plan.

King Crimson
11/5/2008, 03:14 PM
McCain had 5% less of the "white" vote than Bush in '04. doesn't really make the poor black/hispanic theory very robust....there were more, pivotal problems with the McCain campaign and political landscape for the GOP than a decisive influx of poor people.

jneworld
11/5/2008, 03:17 PM
Going to be hard to get a republican ever again.

If you rob Peter to pay Paul, you'll always have Paul's vote.

Gandalf_The_Grey
11/5/2008, 03:20 PM
Was that a Biblical thing in a Obama thread...enjoy your short stay here!!

JLEW1818
11/5/2008, 03:25 PM
My question is did the majority of blacks and Hispanics vote for Obama because he is not white?

My Opinion Matters
11/5/2008, 03:29 PM
My question is did the majority of blacks and Hispanics vote for Obama because he is not white?

I'm sure it was because they were giving away watermelons and pinatas at the polling places.

yermom
11/5/2008, 03:29 PM
since the GOP seems to plan on making poor people, i can see why this has become a problem

yermom
11/5/2008, 03:33 PM
My question is did the majority of blacks and Hispanics vote for Obama because he is not white?

i have to say i'm a little sick of hearing black people talk about his blackness

will blackness fix the economy? or anything else?

Gandalf_The_Grey
11/5/2008, 03:35 PM
Well if we stop using electricity, we would have more money for other stuff..so blackness could technically fix it

leavingthezoo
11/5/2008, 03:56 PM
My question is did the majority of blacks and Hispanics vote for Obama because he is not white?

i'm assuming you didn't pay attention to the primaries for the democratic party. early on, Obama was not the favorite of blacks because "he wasn't black enough", he was uppity, he wasn't really one of them. hillary was a shoe in until her husband made a very stupid gaffe. so blame the white man there. ;) instead of assuming they SHOULD vote for him, he set out to earn their vote. and he did.

hispanics early on were not for obama either. he again took the same approach of earning a vote, rather then assuming one. the votes came.

women (especially the white wimmins) were not going to vote for obama early on... and again... yeah, same outcome.

a greater number of white men were never going to vote for obama, but alas... he won some over.

my point is... if you've followed this election at all, and i mean FOLLOWED it, you would see it was a gradual progress that ended last night. blame the women. blame the blacks. blame the whites. blame the hispanics and then... blame the old folks, the young folks, the indian, the democrats, the independants, the republicans, the liberal, the conservative, the middle of the road... and even the dog if you have to, but the question isn't whether people voted for obama because he is black, but if they voted for obama because he painted a picture that they were willing to invest in.

you don't agree with that picture. that's fine. but trying to use race as his championing reason he took this election is... well, weak at best. of all the people in america... black, white, polka dotted, whatever... the one person who consistently did not tap into the race factor was obama.

maybe the man won because people wanted the man to win... whatever shade he comes in.

The Maestro
11/5/2008, 04:01 PM
maybe the man won because people wanted the man to win... whatever shade he comes in.

This may be true, but if you don't think a lot of black people voted for him simply because he was black, well...I don't know what to tell you.

Now I know a lot of white idiots voted for McCain simply because he WASN'T the black guy, and that is wrong, too. But I heard and saw too many clips yesterday of black people saying it was their first time to vote because they have never had a reason to vote before...translation...a black candidate.

So if Flava Flav was running against McCain would they have voted for him, too?

Eh, it all goes back to party political crap...the system is screwed up, big time, and people will say whatever they need to in order to get elected.

Back to BCS and football issues...more interesting!

leavingthezoo
11/5/2008, 04:06 PM
This may be true, but if you don't think a lot of black people voted for him simply because he was black, well...I don't know what to tell you.

Now I know a lot of white idiots voted for McCain simply because he WASN'T the black guy, and that is wrong, too. But I heard and saw too many clips yesterday of black people saying it was their first time to vote because they have never had a reason to vote before...translation...a black candidate.

So if Flava Flav was running against McCain would they have voted for him, too?

Eh, it all goes back to party political crap...the system is screwed up, big time, and people will say whatever they need to in order to get elected.

Back to BCS and football issues...more interesting!

of course i think some voted for him because he is black. but the two ideas are not equally exclusive. a white man can vote for a white man because he is a white man. or he can vote for a white man because he is the best man to vote for. so, of course, both can be assumed with every race.

my point... the black vote in America, even at 100% cannot win an election by itself. it is easy for me to admit the black vote helped. can you not admit the white vote helped?

it's not that hard. try it. you can do it!

JLEW1818
11/5/2008, 04:08 PM
I'm not being racist at all, but more white people voted for McCain and more black people voted for Obama. That's a clear fact, That race had a lot to do with this election. I wish Obama the best and hope the economy goes up and crime goes down.

Mjcpr
11/5/2008, 04:10 PM
I'm not being racist at all, but more white people voted for McCain and more black people voted for Obama.

For us to be sure, we're going to need to know if you have any friends that are black.

leavingthezoo
11/5/2008, 04:10 PM
nobody called you a racist. you asked a question. i answered it.

JLEW1818
11/5/2008, 04:12 PM
For us to be sure, we're going to need to know if you have any friends that are black.

yes I have black friends. Dom. Franks!!!

Gandalf_The_Grey
11/5/2008, 04:15 PM
Sorry that is a football player...that means he isn't human..we mean regular black folks

Pricetag
11/5/2008, 04:15 PM
Personally, I have just about had enough of party politics. If a literal donkey ran as a democrat and a real elephant took on a Republican race, some folks would vote for them for the mere fact they had the D or R after their name.
Leonard Edward Funt for Prez!

mdklatt
11/5/2008, 04:15 PM
[M]ore white people voted for the R and more black people voted for the D. That's a clear fact in every election.

Fixed.

mdklatt
11/5/2008, 04:16 PM
Sorry that is a football player...that means he isn't human..we mean regular black folks

And being friends on Facebook doesn't count.

Vaevictis
11/5/2008, 04:17 PM
I'm not being racist at all, but more white people voted for McCain and more black people voted for Obama. That's a clear fact, That race had a lot to do with this election. I wish Obama the best and hope the economy goes up and crime goes down.

You can't take race as an issue from your assertion. Why? Because it just so happens that demographically, blacks tend to be the kind of voter that tends to vote Democrat. That is to say, poorer urbanites.

White people tend to be the kind of people that vote Republican -- that is to say, wealthier suburbanites or rural folk.

There are plenty of explanitory factors other than race.

(Which is not to say that race wasn't a factor, just -- well, saying it was the dominant factor is a little of a stretch given the evidence at hand.)

CK Sooner
11/5/2008, 04:18 PM
My question is did the majority of blacks and Hispanics vote for Obama because he is not white?

Yep.

royalfan5
11/5/2008, 04:22 PM
I'm not being racist at all, but more white people voted for McCain and more black people voted for Obama. That's a clear fact, That race had a lot to do with this election. I wish Obama the best and hope the economy goes up and crime goes down.

If you start out by saying I'm not being racist, most people are just going to assume you are being racist and not read the rest of your vote.

The Maestro
11/5/2008, 04:42 PM
of course i think some voted for him because he is black. but the two ideas are not equally exclusive. a white man can vote for a white man because he is a white man. or he can vote for a white man because he is the best man to vote for. so, of course, both can be assumed with every race.

my point... the black vote in America, even at 100% cannot win an election by itself. it is easy for me to admit the black vote helped. can you not admit the white vote helped?

it's not that hard. try it. you can do it!

We agree, in part, but seeing a black person or knowing one that votes Republican is about like seeing a white guy in a dunk contest. Seeing a white person voting for Obama? No biggie at all.

mdklatt
11/5/2008, 04:51 PM
We agree, in part, but seeing a black person or knowing one that votes Republican is about like seeing a white guy in a dunk contest. Seeing a white person voting for Obama? No biggie at all.

Why are you mixing the generic (Republican) and the specific (Obama)? Blacks vote Democrat. It just so happens that the Democrat in this case was black. Did Obama overperform with black voters in greater numbers than he did with white voters?

And so what if some black voters did vote for Obama because he's black? Wouldn't you if you were in their shoes? You sure as hell know that plenty of white voters didn't vote for him because he's black. Why do you think McCain carried every Oklahoma county? We don't enough black voters to counter the cracker vote like they do in the traditional South.

leavingthezoo
11/5/2008, 04:51 PM
We agree, in part, but seeing a black person or knowing one that votes Republican is about like seeing a white guy in a dunk contest. Seeing a white person voting for Obama? No biggie at all.

I'm not debating party affiliation here. it is obvious the democratic party carries the black vote far more heavily than the republican. but the question asked was specifically to race, not party affiliation.

and... that exact demographic voted more heavily democrat in the last 2 elections. why didn't those guys win? because there wasn't enough votes from other demographics. so, you're kind of making my point for me. demographics haven't necessarily changed for the black vote... the change had to come from elsewhere.

The Maestro
11/5/2008, 04:56 PM
Well, new question then. What is it going to take for black people to NOT think Republicans are the devil? Why aren't there more "J.C. Watts" out there?

The perception that blacks have with Republicans is off base...but it is something Republicans need to consider and that goes for all minorities.

My Opinion Matters
11/5/2008, 05:00 PM
Well, new question then. What is it going to take for black people to NOT think Republicans are the devil? Why aren't there more "J.C. Watts" out there?

The perception that blacks have with Republicans is off base...but it is something Republicans need to consider and that goes for all minorities.

Well, to begin with, they need to kick people like jlew1818 out of the party.

mdklatt
11/5/2008, 05:10 PM
Well, new question then. What is it going to take for black people to NOT think Republicans are the devil?

It didn't help their cause that Palin rallies looked a lot like Klan rallies. That whole Southern Strategy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_strategy) thing is probably still fresh in a lot of people's minds, too.

The only common ground between black voters and Republicans is religious conservatism, but that apparently doesn't make up for decades of implicit racism and an explicit "get bent" attitude towards the poor and minorites.

JLEW1818
11/5/2008, 05:14 PM
Well, to begin with, they need to kick people like jlew1818 out of the party.

derrr, u suck

leavingthezoo
11/5/2008, 05:20 PM
Well, new question then. What is it going to take for black people to NOT think Republicans are the devil? Why aren't there more "J.C. Watts" out there?

The perception that blacks have with Republicans is off base...but it is something Republicans need to consider and that goes for all minorities.

Now, that I can't answer. I suspect, though, as time marches on, we will see a greater number moving toward the Republican party. I can't tell you exactly why I feel that way except people like J.C. Watts will bring more to the table. I think he already has.

Here's the thing, though. In an odd way, I think this Obama Presidency will open the door for that. I don't know how to say what I want to say without being offensive to someone, but I'll do the best I can with it. Now that the "last barrier" has been broken, and an African American will now hold the highest office in America... I think more people will be willing to run for office, and of those who run, some will be running as Republican. As visibility increases, so will interest. Interest will breed confidence, and confidence will breed more being brought to the party.

Will it happen over night? I doubt it. But, I truly believe America as a whole has the potential to start meeting in the middle, and in that meeting... people will gravitate to parties that most fit their ideals rather than their history.

To me, this is both a closing chapter, and a new chapter. Obama might fail. He might not. However, this levels the playing field (whether it be perception or reality) because he simply got there. With a level playing field, people tend to adapt their game to the desires rather than their needs, and I believe the Republican part will grow its black demographic over time. I'm not willing to say it will ever be in the numbers the democratic party holds, but it will grow.

I think Obama is a once in a lifetime candidate, whether you hate him or like him. I'm don't think for a moment just any black man would have won this year. He had to bring more to the table than a "magical moment in our nation's history", and if not so, then Jesse Jackson would have been elected first.

P.S. This is all on the fly opinions. There are massive holes in my theory, I'm sure.

JLEW1818
11/5/2008, 05:21 PM
He's a great public speaker with no experience, excellent choice.

mdklatt
11/5/2008, 05:23 PM
He's a great public speaker with no experience, excellent choice.

Name one presidential candidate who had presidential experience before they were elected president. VPs don't count (except for Darth Cheney).

JLEW1818
11/5/2008, 05:27 PM
I didn't say President experience. Hear is a question for you.

When was the last time a Senator went straight into being the President? Not in his life time, but from Senator to President.

yermom
11/5/2008, 05:30 PM
has anyone done it since JFK?

leavingthezoo
11/5/2008, 05:32 PM
what's your point?

mdklatt
11/5/2008, 05:34 PM
When was the last time a Senator went straight into being the President? Not in his life time, but from Senator to President.

JFK, I think. I assume it wouldn't have bothered you at all if McCain went straight from being senator to president.

yermom
11/5/2008, 05:35 PM
Ford basically did...

JLEW1818
11/5/2008, 05:37 PM
I just wanted McCain to win because i felt he was a more safe choice, I was not crazy about him. I personally voted for Huck, in primary

Ford did, but was never elected as a president (that term)