Pollsters: Our Predictions Could Be Off

Skinhead gets 10 years; hoped to murder dozens of minorities

(NEWSER) - A white supremacist was sentenced to 10 years in prison today for his plot to kill dozens of black people, including then-presidential candidate Barack Obama, CNN reports. Paul Schlesselman of Arkansas was arrested after threatening Obama. He later admitted he’d spent more than a month planning and acquiring weapons for a string of killings, burglaries, and robberies that would have culminated in Obama’s death. More»

Poll numbers plummeted amid Sotomayor, Gates controversies

(NEWSER) - President Obama’s downward opinion-poll trajectory among whites seems to be linked to the “blackening” of his image, writes Joan Walsh in Salon. It accelerated during two racially charged moments this summer: Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court, marked with debate over her “wise Latina” comment, and the Henry Louis Gates controversy. At such times, Walsh argues, “there's no denying, he got blacker to a segment of the white population.” More»

Right-wingers show 'irrational,' gut antipathy to Obama

(NEWSER) - If there’s one thing we should all be cool with, it’s the leader of the free world inspiring kids about education. But somehow the idea of President Obama giving a back-to-school speech has spawned an “outbreak of right-wing crazy,” writes Joan Walsh for Salon—“and this time it's hard not to see racism behind the hysteria.” Ever since the presidential campaign, Obama has been labeled “other” and subjected to “visceral, irrational hatred.” More»

(NEWSER) - A lot of people are lying about having voted for President Obama. A recent Wall Street Journal poll gives Obama a 50%-39% edge over John McCain—a big bump over his actual 7% victory. A New York Times survey shows Obama winning with a nearly 2-to-1 margin. That’s a remarkable number, but don’t get too excited; this always happens, Christopher Beam writes for Slate. More»

(NEWSER) - More Americans say race relations are looking good since the election of Barack Obama, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll. Among 973 adults surveyed last week, two-thirds said race relations were good and the number of blacks in agreement doubled since last summer. Despite resignation over the economy and the Iraq war—fronts most Americans say are slow-moving—72% expressed optimism about the next 4 years. More»