Is America Really Ready for a Black President More than a Woman President? Yes, Says Poll

By: Sherrel Wheeler Stewart, BlackAmericaWeb.com

As the race for the White House winds toward summer nominating conventions, a recent CNN/Essence Magazine/Opinion Research Corp. poll says that more people believe America is ready to elect a black president.

Of the 2,184 surveyed between March 26 and April 2, 76 percent of those polled said the country is ready to be led by a black person. That number is up 14 points since a similar survey was conducted in December 2006. The same survey showed that 63 percent feel the country is ready to be led by a woman.

The polling results come as Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and former first lady Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton battle for the Democratic presidential nomination. The most recent Gallup Poll shows Obama with an eight-point lead over Clinton -- 50 percent to 42 percent.

The polling results reflect progess in America, Candice Tolliver, a spokeswoman for the Obama campaign, told BlackAmericaWeb.com. "This is a testament of where we are as a nation," she said. "People across America see a little bit of themselves in Obama in his message and in his vision."

Traci Otey Blunt, a spokeswoman for the Clinton campaign, said that what's important in the race is that voters are not voting against a candidate because of his or her race or gender.

"When you look at the candidates, you see a woman and an African-American. The focus should be on who is the best candidate that will beat the Republicans in November and who will best represent the issues that are important to (voters)," Blunt told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

Some of the rise can be attributed to Obama's success in the Democratic presidential primaries, CNN polling director Keating Holland, said on CNN.com.

"We're not asking this question in a vacuum. In many cases, respondents must have had Obama in mind when giving their answer, even though he is not mentioned anywhere in the questionnaire," Holland said.

"Drawing on their own life experience, blacks are a little more skeptical than whites. But blacks, too, have come around, particularly after the Iowa caucuses demonstrated that Obama could win in an overwhelmingly white electorate," CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider said on CNN.com.

"Optimism about the country's acceptance of a black president is higher among black men than among black women, higher among college-educated blacks than among those with no college degree and higher among younger blacks than older blacks," Holland said in the CNN report.

But a black president will face problems that whites have not had to encounter, said James Taylor, president-elect of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists and a political science professor at the University of San Francisco.

"Barack Obama would be good for America, but not necessarily good for black America," Taylor told BlackAmericaWeb.com. "Things could be more complex, because he would be handcuffed by perception. If a black president favors a contract or initiative from a black entity qualified to do the job, it would be viewed as favoritism based on racial preference. Bush can support conservatives, and nothing is said."

"America is ripe for a candidate like this at this time," Taylor said. "Obama is a mix of the best of Dr. King, President John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy."

Obama has led Clinton by significant margins of between eight and 10 points in the last four Gallup reports, stretching back to April 4-6, according to a Gallup statement. Although the margin has varied, Obama has also led Clinton by at least one point in every three-day rolling average reported by Gallup since March 18-20.

There has been little change in the highly competitive nature of the general election, based on Gallup Poll Daily tracking of registered voters nationwide. Presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain is within one point of both Obama and Clinton, according to the Gallup Web site. In a November match-up, Obama would lead McCain 46 percent to 45 percent, but there is a two percent margin of error in the polls. Only one percentage point would separate McCain and Clinton. McCain would garner 45 percent to Clinton's 44 percent.

Clinton campaign officials said because she has done very well in big states, she can do well against the Republican in November.

"Sen. Clinton has won the big states, and these states like California and Ohio are critical in the general election," said Blunt.

But "no one alive could have imagined that we would see this in our lifetime," Taylor said of Obama's success. "This is unprecedented. There has been no other event in America to come close to this -- other than Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball."