In response to inquiries from certain special students--or student ;)--here is a Gallup Poll story related to their attempt to determine whether race will impede or augment Barack Obama's electability:
While 6% of voters say they are less likely to vote for Barack Obama because of his race, 9% say they are more likely to vote for him, making the impact of his race a neutral to slightly positive factor when all voters' self-reported attitudes are taken into account.
At the same time, 6% of voters say John McCain's race will make them less likely to vote for him, with 7% saying it makes them more likely to vote for him, leading to the same basic conclusion: McCain's race, like Obama's, is on balance neither a plus nor a minus.
But the point of the Bradley effect is that poll respondents do not always tell pollsters (a human on the other end of a conversation) the truth. I'm not sure how much credence I'd give it.
Here's another take at what might be going on: a Reverse Bradley Effect. Whites may not want to admit to supporting a Black candidate.
