Black Political Zone

While news shows such as Hardball with Chris Matthews (watch video above) have been discussing the possibility of Obama's run for the white house, Earl Ofari Hutchinson writes in his column this week about it as well in his piece entitled, "Obama Must Weigh the X Factor of Race." He writes:

Still, many white voters when publicly questioned whether they'd vote for a black candidate, swear that race makes no difference in their pick. But it's often a far different story when the voting curtain closes. And there no prying pollster eyes, and reporter microphones and note pads around. In a 2006 study in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, a Yale political economist found that white Republicans are 25 percentage points more likely to cross over and vote for a white Democratic senatorial candidate against a black Republican foe.

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