John Sununu, the surrogate the Romney campaign uses to promote crazy uncle memes they can’t afford to be associated with themselves, told Piers Morgan yesterday that Colin Powell was endorsing Barack Obama mainly because, hey, Powell’s a black guy and endorsing Obama is the kind of thing you do in order to stand with “somebody of your own race.” Atrios:
What’s “amazing” (horrifying) is that while old white dudes like Sununu instantly jump to the idea that the main thing which drives African-American voting habits (congratulations, Senator Steele) is racial solidarity, but would freak if you suggested white people are more likely to vote for white people.
Funny he should mention that. The Washington Post reports today that this year’s election is the most thoroughly racialized in the past 20 years:
The 2012 election is shaping up to be more polarized along racial lines than any presidential contest since 1988, with President Obama experiencing a steep drop in support among white voters from four years ago.
….Nearly half of all of those who supported Obama in 2008 but now say they back Romney are white independents. Overall, whites make up more than 90 percent of such vote “switchers.” Romney’s advantage here comes even as 48 percent of white voters in the tracking data released Monday said Romney, as president, would do more to favor the wealthy….Most whites, with and without college educations, saw Obama as doing more to favor those in the middle, not the wealthy.
Do you think John Sununu was unaware of this when he made that comment? If you answer yes, please contact me immediately. I’ve come across an exciting opportunity to help a Nigerian widow collect her inheritance and I think you might be able to help.
