Can Obama Pull out the African American Vote a Second Time Around?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-faces-growing-discontent-among-black-voters/2011/09/23/gIQA3vYurK_story.html

This article, by Nia-Malika Henderson, focuses on the growing concern in the Obama camp that black support has slipped dangerously far enough to create a substantial dent in his vote assurance of the African American community.

As the Presidential Election gets closer Obama must try to salvage what is left of the black support and regain what is not. He spoke on Saturday at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation where a highly prioritized issue was that of his American Jobs Act. As emphasized by Representative Maxine Waters, one of the key factors in the diminishing of  Obama's black support is black unemployment. The current rate of black unemployment is 15.9% up from 11.5% when he first was elected president, and many of his 2008 supporters feel he has neglected the well-being of the African American community.

The article also points out a phenomenon which three years ago would have been completely unheard of: the raising of the green flag in the black community to publicly critise Obama. Not only has this new freedom been OK-ed but it is also encouraged by Representatives such as Waters. The article describes how she, "Urged the audience to 'unleash' black elected officials from the unwritten rule of not openly criticizing the president," at a CBC Jobs fair in Detroit, but it seems that many never needed the permission to dispute Obama in the first place as polls have been showing that, "Blacks are more likely than before to say that the country is on the wrong track and are less inclined to have favorable views of Obama." Republicans are getting on board too, making an effort to contact politicians like Waters to express their awareness and concern. Depending on how sincere they actually come across, this could pose a threat to the President in next year's election.

Obama isn't giving up hope, however, and his Jobs Act will likely help to ease any of his concerns of losing a signifcant portion of his African American vote. Some African Americans also recognize the fact that the President has had to take care not to "overtly" cater to the black community in order to keep his white supporters from feeling like his policies and intentions are racially driven. Mayor Kasim Reed commented that it is "unfair" for people to expect Obama to focus all his attention on blacks as it could jepordize his chance for the general election. He and Al Sharpton both agree that public critism of Obama by blacks could hurt voter turnout and thus suggest a show of strength and support for Obama instead.

Personally, I think Obama will still win the majority vote of African Americans, perhaps just not by as massive of a landslide.