WP, E.J. Dionne: Pennsylvania Fault Lines; "into the thicket of race and religion"

[DeepModem Mom]

Pennsylvania Fault Lines
By E. J. Dionne Jr.
Friday, April 25, 2008; A23

Perhaps it was inevitable: The Democrats' battle for the presidential nomination has led us into the thicket of race and religion.

Hillary Clinton's significant victory over Barack Obama in the Pennsylvania primary was the result of many factors, but most troubling for Obama's camp were exit polls suggesting that an underlying anti-Obama vote was responsible for the size of Clinton's win. One little-noticed finding was that 6 percent of Clinton's own voters said that they would defect to John McCain in the fall against Clinton herself. These Pennsylvania Democrats clearly were not Clinton enthusiasts. They were voting against Obama. What was behind the anti-Obama feeling? More specifically, did Obama's race play a role? The evidence suggests that race mattered; it's just not clear how much....

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The religion factor, especially the Catholic factor, is equally complicated. But it is no less important. Among white Catholics in Pennsylvania, Clinton received 72 percent of the vote, nine points better than her share among whites as a whole and 13 points better than her performance among white Protestants.

Some of the differences can be explained by the fact that self-identified Pennsylvania Catholics were older than other voters -- and older white voters have been at the core of Clinton's base. Among voters under 45, by contrast, the differences between white Catholics and white Protestants were negligible. Nonetheless, older white Catholics were decidedly more resistant to Obama than other older whites. Even as Pennsylvania's votes were being counted, a top Clinton campaign official was touting the extensive work Clinton had done to woo Catholics....

The Obama campaign was slower in organizing Catholics, but this month it announced the formation of a Catholic "advisory council" whose ranks include Sharon Daly, a former top official at Catholic Charities USA, and Mary Jo Bane, who served in the Department of Health and Human Services in Bill Clinton's administration. Since Catholics have a history of backing the victorious presidential candidate, the struggle over Catholic voters will be closely tied to arguments with superdelegates over whether Clinton or Obama is more electable.

Ultimately, Obama may face a contradiction, or at least a paradox. He has succeeded in beating back racial stereotypes by presenting himself as a cerebral and unifying figure who disdains confrontation and heated rhetoric. But many Catholic voters, particularly those in blue-collar ranks, are skeptical of his transformative oratory and cool personality. "They want to see some fight, some grit and some specifics," said one Democrat who is neutral but wishes Obama well.

There is only so much Obama can do to deal with outright racial prejudice. But in grappling with his difficulties among Catholic voters, Obama may find a way to ease the burdens of race.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/24/AR2008042402978_pf.html