Ruminations over the role of race in the '08 presidential campaign

This column on NPR's website contains a lot of hand-wringing over the possibility that racism will cost Barack Obama the presidency.

The short version is this: The Democratic candidate ought to be way ahead in the polls right now. The fact that he isn't can only be attributed to race. A lot of undecideds harbor racial prejudices even if they don't realize it. There is a good-to-excellent chance McCain or his swiftboating cronies will use subtle appeals to racism against Obama, such as the "Celebrity" ad (which played upon white people's fears of black men preying on white women) and charges that Obama lacks experience (which imply he is an "affirmative action candidate").

While I agree that voters' impressions of Obama are influenced by race, I don't think it's accurate or helpful to apply the term "racism" to the problems Obama is having connecting with certain groups of voters. "Racism" implies a belief that one race is superior to another. I don't think racism is a significant factor in American politics. Bias in favor of people who are similar may be. Obama commands the support of something like 97% of blacks. Catholics turned out in droves for JFK. Southern Evangelicals love GWB. Irish politicians thrive in South Boston.

As a general proposition, nobody seems to think it's a sign of social decay that voters tend to favor politicians who are of the same ethnicity, or for women to want to vote for other women. It's only when this phenomenon works to the disadvantage of a black politician does anyone think to call it racism.