Jury Still Out On Whether America Is Truly Ready For A Black President

    MaiMai News - LOS ANGELES, CA, January 24, 2008 -- The question that has been repeatedly asked during America 's presidential campaign is whether America is truly ready to elect a black president. Political analyst Earl Ofari Hutchinson contends the jury is still way out on that question. Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama has gotten high marks from many Americans of all colors for his spirited run for the White House.

But there was an ominous note for Obama in the New Hampshire primary and an even more ominous note for him in the Nevada caucus vote. White voters in New Hampshire were split on his candidacy. But in Nevada white voters voted overwhelmingly for his opponents Hillary Clinton and John Edwards. Nevada is far more representative of conservative and traditional political sentiment in the Western and heartland states than Iowa or even New Hampshire with its large number of independent voters.

"The Obama campaign will sorely test whether the 'Bradley Effect' is still alive and well in American politics," says Hutchinson . The 'Bradley Effect' is named after the losing effort for California governor in the 1980s by then Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley. Bradley was thought to be a shoo-in for governor against his white opponent. He had big leads in the polls, but then lost the election. "Many white voters told pollsters and interviewers that they would vote for a black candidate but didn't. They lied. It cost Bradley the election," says Hutchinson . The same phenomena have appeared in other campaigns that match a black candidate against a white candidate.
Obama may or may not be a victim of the 'Bradley Effect.' However, Hutchinson assesses the 'Bradley effect' and tells what impact it could have on Obama's campaign.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His forthcoming book is The Ethnic Presidency: How Race Decides the Race to the White House (Middle Passage Press, February 2008).

About Us:

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His forthcoming book is The Ethnic Presidency: How Race Decides the Race to the White House (Middle Passage Press, February 2008).
Press release distribution by PressReleasePoint(http://www.pressreleasepoint.com/)


Contact:

Earl Ofari Hutchinson
Hutchinson Report
LOS ANGELES, CA.
United States.
323-296-6331
hutchinsonreport@aol.com
http://earlofarihutchinson.blogspot.com