Thread: Gallup Poll: Fewer see better race relations

Gallup Poll: Fewer see better race relations



By JENNIFER EPSTEIN | 8/24/11 6:35 AM EDT

Americans are less sure that having a black president has improved race relations than they were during the first year of Barack Obama’s presidency, according to a new poll.

In all, 35 percent of Americans surveyed for a USA Today/Gallup poll released Wednesday say they think race relations have gotten better since Obama took office. But that’s down from 41 percent who said the same in October 2009.

The proportion of Americans who see race relations getting worse has essentially stayed the same, with 23 percent of those surveyed saying relations have gotten worse, compared with 22 percent who said the same two years ago.

The poll comes just ahead of the formal opening Sunday of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, and as some members of the Congressional Black Caucus — most notably Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) — have voiced frustration with the president.

Larger percentages of blacks and Democrats surveyed say they’ve seen improvements in race relations — 48 percent of black Americans and 46 percent of Democrats. In contrast, 31 percent of whites and just 19 percent of Republicans see race relations improving.

Meanwhile, proportion of Americans who see race relations as having stayed the same since Obama moved into the White House has grown. Forty-one percent of Americans say there’s been no change, up from 35 percent two years ago.

The poll was conducted Aug. 4-7 and surveyed 1,319 adults. The error margin is plus or minus four percentage points.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/08 ... z1VwqDoBoi

I see it as much worse in my area, the great organizer has become the great divider but not through accident IMO.