In what has laughably been called a "post-racial" election by some (probably the same one calling it "post-gender" and "post-age"), there has been much made of the voting tendencies of Black voters. Some writers have described, wide-eyed, the fact that Obama had won in states with low Black populations--writers like Nick Gillespie of Reason Magazine who posited that

In a remarkable number of states, according to exit polls, Obama won more than 40% of the white male vote. Those states included Clinton's home state of New York (where Obama got 43%), Arizona (45%) and, most remarkably, the Deep South state of Georgia (46%). Indeed, in Connecticut, New Mexico, Illinois, California, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin, his support from white men was in the quite amazing range of 56% to 64% (Lalita: Oh, my stars and garters!)....

While no one asks whether white males will vote their pigment and plumbing when voting for McCain (pundits must assume that they are voting the issues, like "mature" voters should), these same natterboxes have begin studying the voting patterns of Blacks.

In a Pew Research Center report, they found something interesting--that while the Black vote has remained consistent (with roughly 73% of respondents reporting voting Democratic), the white vote has shifted markedly: since 2004, white Republican voters have declined by 7%. The gap between white Dems and members of the GOP is closing rapidly.

This being said, what is lacking from the research is the answer to the question: "Why?"

Moreover, few are asking why roughly 30% of white Americans don't believe that America is ready for a Black president:

Seventy-two percent of white Americans and 61 percent of black Americans surveyed in a new CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Monday say the nation is ready for a black commander in chief.

That number is higher than it was two years ago, when 65 percent of whites and 54 percent of blacks felt the same way. It's also higher than the proportion of either men or women -- 64 percent and 65 percent, respectively -- who currently believe the nation is ready for a woman in the White House. (Lalita: as a business and leadership consultant I find this portentious with respect to how "comfortable" people are with Black or femail leadership in the corporate world. Note the pitifully low levels of c-suite and board participation among these groups.)

Given that so many more in this study claimed more readiness to vote for a negro than a Nancy, it doesn't explain the Reverend Wright hysteria or the lack of hysteria with Hillary's tears. Guess "too Black" trumps "too female."

Still trying to suss this one out. Stay tuned for more and be sure to offer your thoughts.

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