Jun 23, 2008 6:30 am US/Eastern
CBS Poll: Race, Age Are Issues For Voters
A Recent Poll Taken By CBS Shows That Voters Will Consider McCain's Age And Obama's Race When Casting Their Ballots
(CBS News)
A CBS poll shows that Barack Obama's race and John McCain's age could be a deciding factor when voters head to the polls in November, reported CBS News Correspondent Randall Pinkston.
Like the Democratic party primary, the November election gives American voters another historic choice - electing the first African American president in Barack Obama, or the oldest first-term president in John McCain.
Age and race, polls show both have a lot of work to do to convince skeptical voters.
The 71-year-old McCain uses humor to defuse the issue. Like in a recent skit from 'Saturday Night Live'.
"I ask you, what should America be looking for in our next president?" McCain asked with a grin. "Certainly, someone who is very, very, very old."
But pollsters say the reality is that age is no laughing matter for voters.
"When you ask people about a candidate who's 70-years-old, you get a very large percentage, almost 50-pecent, saying 'that's tool old to be President,'" said Andrew Kohut with Pew Research.
Obama, son of an African father and a white American mother, reluctantly speaks publicly about race. But at a Florida fundraiser, he acknowledged that it will be an issue in the campaign.
"He's got a funny name," Obama said at the fundraiser. "And did I mention he's black?"
While most Americans say the nation is ready for a black president, past experience shows that white voters don't always reveal their true feelings to pollsters - something called the Bradley effect.
"The Bradley effect is named after former Mayor of Los Angeles, Tom Bradley who in his California gubernatorial run was leading substantially in the polls going into the weekend of the race and lost," said Michael Fauntroy, an assistant professor of public policy at George Mason University.
In a recent CBS poll, among white voters who say race is a factor in their presidential choice, McCain leads Obama by nearly 20 points.
It's a major problem for Obama, with no easy solution.
"Senator Obama has to walk a fine line," said Fauntroy. "He cannot be seen as bringing race into the discussion because it's a sure fire loser. But, if he continues to ignore it, it's also a problem."
Whatever bias may exist in the polling booth, analysts say the race, for both candidates will come down to turning out their base. And, which man can pick up the largest block of independent voters.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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