How will race affect the election?
Story Created:
Nov 4, 2008 at 5:24 PM EST
Story Updated:
Nov 4, 2008 at 6:23 PM EST
(WKTV) - Will race be a factor in this year's presidential election? Many people say yes - it's just a matter of how big of a factor it will be.
As the curtain in the voting booth closes, it's a very private time for most people. And some may not choose their candidate until they pull that lever.
The pre-election polls showed Barack Obama had a healthy lead over John McCain.
"The polls to me are just merely numbers," said Chris Strain, a Utica College student. "To bring hype to the audience...at this point, the race is too close, and as I said, everything depends on a ballot not a poll."
This year, for the first time in a presidential election, we have a white candidate and a black candidate.
"We progressed greatly in the past 40 years, but at the same time, mindsets of corporate America and the mindsets of political America really haven't changed that much," said Chris Durosinmi, also a Utica College student. "At the end of the day, all we can do is wait for election day until people go to the ballots."
These Utica College Political Science students believe we will see what is called "The Bradley Effect" in this year's election.
It was named for the former African American Mayor of Los Angeles who lost the 1982 California governor's race despite being ahead in voter polls going into the elections.
"He had a gigantic lead in the polls going in to the election, but a lot of white voters could not draw themselves in that private booth," said Mike Atwood, another Utica College student. "You know, you have more privacy in that booth than you have in the bathroom. And they could not draw themselves to pull that lever for an African American candidate even though he was better qualified."
McCain supporters believe their candidate is the better qualified candidate and they say race has not been a factor and believe it won't be.
"I am surprised and am encouraged," said Strain. it has been pretty much not an issue."
But some say there is racism in this country, it's just a matter of how much.
And if John McCain ends up winning, or even if Obama wins but not by as much as the polls said he would...
"It'll be talking about it from the time ballots close, to up to inauguration as to how everything played out," Strain said.
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