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Poll: Voters Split Over Obama Speech
by The Associated Press
Posted: March 27, 2008 - 8:00 am ET
(Washington) Barack Obama 's speech on race has left
the public divided on whether he has sufficiently put the issue behind him, a
poll shows.
Even so, The Wall Street Journal-NBC News survey released
Wednesday showed that Obama's remarks and the attention paid to comments by his
longtime pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, so far have had little effect on his
race with Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Videos of Wright sermons include one in which he shouts
"God damn America" for its treatment of minorities. He also has said
the U.S. government invented AIDS to destroy "people of color" and has
suggested U.S. policies were to blame for the 9/11 attacks.
In a speech last week, Obama rejected Wright's divisive
comments but stood by him otherwise and said it is time for the country to
address its racial schism.
By 55 percent to 32 percent, more who had seen or heard
about Obama's speech said they were satisfied with his explanation of his
association with Wright than said they were dissatisfied.
Yet people familiar with Obama's remarks were about evenly
split between those who said they felt reassured about his feelings on race, and
those who said they still had doubts. Slightly more said Obama has said enough
about race than said he needs to address it further.
In all instances, whites were more dubious than blacks
about whether Obama had handled the issue successfully. Democrats were far more
supportive than Republicans, while independents were likelier to be divided.
©365Gay.com 2008
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