Obama Camp: McCain Has Racist Vote

Barack Obama’s campaign manager David Plouffe says racists are probably going to vote for John McCain in November if Obama is the Democratic presidential nominee.

Asked by National Journal’s Linda Douglas if race was going to be a problem for Obama in the general election, Plouffe said:

“We really don't think so. I mean the vast, vast majority of voters who would not vote for Barack Obama in November based on race are probably firmly in John McCain's camp already.”

But he noted: “We have won white voters, particularly white voters under 60, in a lot of states. We've won white men voters in most of the states we've competed in.”

Race could actually play out in Obama’s favor, Plouffe suggested, telling Douglas in remarks reported by Ben Smith’s blog on Politico.com:

“If Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee, I think turnout amongst African-Americans, turnout amongst all voters under 40, and our ability to register new voters is going to be a very important piece of the puzzle.”

Plouffe also said that Democrats who are voting for Hillary Clinton in the primaries “won't agree with John McCain on issues like the economy and health care. And so I think that we are going to get the vast, vast majority of Democratic voters.”