PlayRacism hurts Obama's campaign
Published: Sunday, 21 September 2008, 3:14PM
Deep seated Racial prejudices held by some US voters, are hurting Barack Obama's campaign for the white house.
A new poll has found that one third of white Democrats harbour negative views towards blacks - sometimes calling them lazy and violent.
The poll further suggests that these prejudices could cost the Illinois Senator several percentage points in the closely fought campaign against John McCain.
However, some political analysts say George Bush's unpopularity, The Iraq war, and the Meltdown on Wall Street will all work against Republican John McCain.
Should the Democrats win both the White House and US Congress elections, they face pressure to deliver on expensive campaign promises amid projected record federal deficits certain to swell by the Wall Street meltdown.
The last time Democrats won the White House, House and Senate was in the 1992 elections. Two years later, voters put Republicans back in the charge of both chambers of Congress.
While Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain are locked in a close presidential race, polls show Democrats headed toward expanding their control of Congress.
They now hold the House 235-199 with one vacancy and the Senate 51-49.
Obama hopes to gain the support of enough Republicans to enable him to advance his legislative agenda.
His campaign vows include revamping financial regulations; rolling back tax cuts for the rich; cutting taxes for the middle class; plugging tax loopholes that he says encourage U.S. companies to move overseas, taking American jobs with them, and curbing global warming.
Obama has also called for withdrawing US troops from Iraq and redeploying them to Afghanistan as part of a stepped-up effort to root out militants like al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
Meanwhile, Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, seeking to bolster her foreign policy credentials, is to meet leaders of U.S. allies Afghanistan and Colombia on Tuesday in New York.
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