Obama benefited from race based voting

John Henke over at the Next Right points to what is probably the most under-reported statistical fact of the 2008 election.  That racism benefited Obama.

Via CNN's own polling numbers:

Those who said race was an important factor voted 55 percent to 44 percent in favor of Obama.

I'm just taking a stab in the dark here, but maybe...just maybe...that has something to do with why we haven't been treated to endless stories about how racism was an issue in the campaign.  That and the fact that Obama won I suppose.

Shut your eyes for a moment and imagine what media coverage would have been like had the reverse been true.

Of course I think everyone knew that the overwhelming majority of blacks did vote for Obama, but of course you see the same thing in just about any campaign in terms of their support of Democrats.  And, to be fair, the majority of whites supported McCain, and usually support Republicans in national elections.

The difference however is that these numbers apply to people who said race was a factor in deciding how they cast their vote.  And it benefited Obama - the black Democrat.

And again, nothing but crickets from the media.