Handwriting is on the wall.
“Every day Iwatch the polls and get excited because I know Barack Obama is going towin the whole thing,” said Corgins Banner, a 32-year-old Charlotte manwho works for a bank. “Then it hits me. Something is going to happen.They are going to find a way to stop him.”
The long-runningcampaign has taken its emotional toll on some blacks who are jubilantone moment and fearful the next, and the mixed feelings were evident ininterviews conducted last week.
History shows the concern is not invalid.
During theprimary, white rural and blue-collar workers in states likePennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Texas never came around to Mr.Obama’s side. In West Virginia, when the media had all but declaredthat Mr. Obama had secured the nomination, the Illinois senator lost by41 percentage points.
“Racism isstill alive and well in this country,” said Washington-based Democraticconsultant Ray Strother, who contends that polls don’t reflect somewhite voters’ reluctance to back a black candidate. “There will bepeople who go into the voting booth intending to vote for Obama butwon’t be able to do it.”
The uneasiness hasn’t shaken blackvoters’ resolve. Their backing was crucial to him winning several earlyprimaries, and a strong black turnout is expected to boost Mr. Obama inbattleground states, including North Carolina.
“He’s so close,and I want to believe he’s going to do it,” said Amber Hinton, a20-year-old college student from Charlotte. “But it’s hard for me tobelieve that it’s going to happen. I don’t think America is going tolet him win.”