The first major national poll taken since Sen. Barack Obama's speech on race in America shows Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in a virtual tie, reversing Obama's slide in the polls after the wide airing of controversial remarks made by his pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
"It's hard to disentangle the impact of (Obama's) speech," Gallup Poll Editor in Chief Frank Newport said Tuesday. The latest Gallup Poll, taken March 22, showed the Illinois senator with 47 percent of the national Democratic vote and Clinton with 46. On March 18 - the day of Obama's speech - after clips of Wright's sermons had permeated the media, Clinton held a seven-point lead over Obama.
Said Newport: "All we know is that he made a speech, and a couple of days later, he was tied with Hillary when a couple days before he was down seven points."
Obama's much-praised speech called on Americans to break the racial stalemate that has long divided the country, frankly addressing the prejudices and fears of both blacks and whites.
Full story here.
The speech has been widely compared to when Kennedy addressed a Protestant ministers' convention in Houston in September 1960. We commend Obama on keeping it real, and discussing an issue in our society that is far more important than our economy. He's determined on change, and this is how change happens, going against the grain. What other politicians do you know that would have addressed racial issues within our country? Exactly, one of the many reasons why Expressive Frontier supports the Obama campaign.
No comments:
Post a Comment