The election (of) race

Barack Obama’s race was a non-issue it seemed until about March time. What role will it play in the election?

The Observer has included a section of articles from the New York Times for a while now, but their choice has been a bit hit and miss as far as their relevance to Politics students is concerned.

But this weekend’s included an excellent story that my regular reading of the nytimes.com website had contrived to miss.

“Where Whites Draw the Line” looks in some detail at whether Barack Obama will be able to transcend the race issue.

“How black is too black?

Millions of African-Americans celebrated Barack Obama’s historic victory, seeing in it a reflection — sudden and shocking — of their own expanded horizons.

But whether Mr. Obama captures the White House in November will depend on how he is seen by white Americans. Indeed, some people argue that one of the reasons Mr. Obama was able to defeat Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton was that a large number of white voters saw him as “postracial.”

In other words, Mr. Obama was black, but not too black.

But where is the line? Does it change over time? And if it is definable, then how black can Mr. Obama be before he alienates white voters? Or, to pose the question more cynically, how black do the Republicans have to make him to win?”