“There’s no erosion at all.” NYT: Black Support for Obama Is Steady and Strong

[Pirate Smile]

Black Support for Obama Is Steady and Strong


President Obama campaigned last week in Jamestown, N.C. Mr. Obama is hoping to repeat his 2008 victory in the state.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. —

-snip-
Obama campaign officials say they recognize the difficulty of renewing the enthusiasm that spurred black turnout, but they also say there are still new black voters to be reached. Democratic campaign strategists say they also expect African-Americans to be motivated to vote by Republican attacks on the president and the desire to make certain that Mr. Obama’s historic tenure in the White House extends beyond one term. They are already building staffs in swing states with significant black populations, like Florida, North Carolina and Virginia, for an intensive effort called Operation Vote, which will focus on African-Americans, women and Hispanics.
“Already the foundation is beginning to eclipse what they did in 2008,” said Mike Henry, campaign manager for former Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia, a Democrat running for the Senate.

-snip-
Some believe the president will be hard-pressed to reproduce those results, with a political narrative emerging in Washington that African-Americans have begun to sour on the president. Various black leaders — including Representative Maxine Waters of California, the television host Tavis Smiley and Cornel West, a prominent professor — have criticized Mr. Obama for what they see as not doing enough for black Americans. Mr. Obama fed the story line in a speech last month to the Congressional Black Caucus, when he said African-Americans should “stop crying” and fight for his jobs bill.
Outside Washington, however, the story is markedly different. Mr. Obama’s support among African-Americans appears strikingly strong, even among many who are out of work, who might be expected to complain the loudest.

In a recent Pew Research Center poll, black voters preferred Mr. Obama 95 percent to 3 percent over Mitt Romney, “which is at least the margin he got in 2008,” said Michael Dimock, associate director for research at Pew. “There’s no erosion at all.”
Even more noteworthy, less than 10 percent of black voters in a New York Times/CBS News survey taken last month said that Mr. Obama had failed to meet their expectations as president, while nearly 3 in 10 said he had exceeded expectations. Among nonblack voters, 4 in 10 said he performed worse than expected, while only 5 percent said he had done better.

For many African-Americans, the main reason to support Mr. Obama is easy to cite. They argue that the modern Republican Party protects the rich at the expense of the poor, is hostile to social programs and thinks the way to fix the economy is solely through a trickle-down approach.
“We already know what the Republican Party is offering,” said Mr. Bennett, 57, the former Cooper Industries employee, a plant supervisor before he lost his job. “And we don’t want that.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/us/politics/obamas-support-among-blacks-remains-strong.html?_r=1&smid=tw-nytimespolitics&seid=auto

[frazzled]

1. 95-3

Tavis is going to work harder. I'm starting to think he's not reaching a black audience.

[Pirate Smile]

3. Tavis, Cornell & Maxine all got a shout out in the article.

It shows just how massive their influence truly is within the Black Community.

[CakeGrrl]

4. Wow, that's gonna be a squeaker.

Mittens is gonna have to let the dogs out again.







:rofl:

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

2. The Gallup poll says likewise.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/124922/Presidential-Approval-Center.aspx

[Pirate Smile]

5. A little more:

Beyond issues, many African-Americans feel an emotional connection to Mr. Obama that seems unshakable, saying that nothing can compare with seeing someone who looks like them in the White House.
That bond still brings tears to the eyes of Sheila Gorham, an elementary school principal in Greensboro, when she talks about the first time she saw Mr. Obama in Charlotte in 2008.

[Tarheel_Dem]

6. We know the real deal when we see it, despite the machinations of the Cornel Wests,

and the Herman Cains of the world. :hi:

[FrenchieCat]

7. Black folks ain't spoiled and they didn't elect Obama to be their daddy.....

We aren't called the most loyal Democrats for nothing. We know who's truly evil,
and we ain't going there...not even indirectly! If Obama doesn't win the election,
nobody can look at us, when Republicans are kicking folks ass up and down the street.
We will have done all that we could.

[1StrongBlackMan]

8. I think ...

what Black folks (actually all "minorities") know from our entire political history in America, that others have yet to learn is that "the perfect truly is the enemy of the good" and "the good is most often measured by the opposing bad."

We have survived by taking settling for the good and not waiting for the mythical perfect.

[FrenchieCat]

9. Yep! MLK said...."I have a dream, that SOMEDAY....."

He certainly didn't say...."I have a dream that ASAP or else I'm outta here"

[young but wise]

10. +1