The Courier Journal Editorial Wastes It's Time Trying To Make Sense To Those Who Lack The Ability To Comprehend Sense! Read Below.

Race and the vote

Two things are clear about race and the presidential election results in Kentucky. One is that race was a factor; the other is that it is impossible to say how much of one.

There is, however, one canard that should be put to rest -- that African-American voters who supported Barack Obama because he is black are just as blameworthy as white voters who opposed him because of his color.

There is a world of difference between citizens who voted for Mr. Obama because of their pride in a black presidential nominee after a history of 300 years of oppression -- or, for that matter, women who voted for Hillary Clinton because of their pride in a serious woman candidate -- and voters who oppose someone simply because the candidate is black or female.

Black voters, after all, vote mostly for white candidates, and women vote mostly for men, because they are who generally run.

Beyond that, however, it gets very murky. Exit polls and follow-up interviews found Kentucky voters who said that race was the principal basis for their vote, and the majority of those votes went Republican.

Moreover, a New York Times study shows that many of Kentucky's rural and Appalachian counties voted more heavily for the GOP ticket this year than in 2004. Given the staggering percentage of voters who believe the country is on the wrong track, it would be hard to explain such an outcome without at least some reference to racial bias.

At the same time, however, there obviously are many other factors. Most McCain voters consider themselves Republicans, who routinely back their own party. Kentucky went Republican in five of the previous seven presidential elections. Social conservatism, annoyance that Mr. Obama didn't campaign in Kentucky and even religion (the false claim that Mr. Obama had been a Muslim) also undoubtedly played a role.

The most important statistic about the racial vote may lie in national polling that showed that white voters who rejected Mr. Obama on grounds of race tended to fall in older, poorer and less educated segments of the electorate.

The concentration of such voters in this state should raise concerns that the gap between the Kentucky of the future and 21st Century America will widen. That would be harmful, and that is what we should be talking about as we parse the election returns.

Editor's comment: "There is, however, one canard that should be put to rest -- that African-American voters who supported Barack Obama because he is black are just as blameworthy as white voters who opposed him because of his color.

There is a world of difference between citizens who voted for Mr. Obama because of their pride in a black presidential nominee after a history of 300 years of oppression -- or, for that matter, women who voted for Hillary Clinton because of their pride in a serious woman candidate -- and voters who oppose someone simply because the candidate is black or female.

Black voters, after all, vote mostly for white candidates, and women vote mostly for men, because they are who generally run."

I Wonder Why The C-J Editor Is Wasting His Time Trying To Make Sense To Those Who Lack The Generally God Given Ability To Comprehend Sense!