The controversy over Rev. Wright's comment has raised issue not only about race, but also about patriotism and the extent to which such views are held among the broader black population. In 2004, the NES asked several questions about patriotism. On each of these questions, there were significant differences in the views of whites and blacks, as shown in the tables below:
How Do You Feel When You See the American Flag? | | Whites | Blacks |
| Extremely good | 55 | 28 |
| Very good | 30 | 33 |
| Somewhat good | 12 | 32 |
| Not very good | 3 | 7 |
How Strong Is Your Love For Your Country? | | Whites | Blacks |
| Extremely Strong | 59 | 43 |
| Very Strong | 32 | 38 |
| Somewhat Strong | 7 | 14 |
| Not Strong | 1 | 5 |
How Important Is Being An American? | | Whites | Blacks |
| Extremely Important | 65 | 52 |
| Very Important | 25 | 34 |
| Somewhat Important | 7 | 9 |
| Not Too Important | 2 | 2 |
| Not At All Important | 1 | 3 |
These results are even more striking when we break them down along partisan lines:
How Do You Feel When You See the American Flag? | | White Republicans | White Independents | White Democrats | Blacks |
| Extremely Good | 70 | 46 | 48 | 28 |
| Very Good | 26 | 34 | 27 | 33 |
| Somewhat Good | 3 | 16 | 22 | 32 |
| Not Very Good | 0 | 4 | 4 | 7 |
How Strong is Your Love For Your Country? | | White Republicans | White Independents | White Democrats | Blacks |
| Extremely Strong | 68 | 53 | 56 | 43 |
| Very Strong | 29 | 33 | 35 | 38 |
| Somewhat Strong | 3 | 10 | 8 | 14 |
| Not Strong | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| |
How Important Is Being An American? | | White Republicans | White Independents | White Democrats | Blacks |
| Extremely Important | 80 | 56 | 59 | 52 |
| Very Important | 19 | 28 | 29 | 34 |
| Somewhat Important | 1 | 10 | 9 | 9 |
| Not Too Important | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Not Important At All | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
These numbers suggest a very big gap regarding patriotism between blacks and white Republicans, explaining why the conservative blogosphere went into such a tizzy over Wright's comments. On the other hand, the differences between blacks and white Democrats and even white Independents is not nearly as large, perhaps explaining why the Wright controversy hasn't hurt Obama all that much in the Democratic nomination polls or even the general election match-ups.
Update: Thanks to those who pointed out the mix up in the first table. The problem is now fixed.
3 comments:
The first table looks inverted vertically. Or it's the result of a survey of Canadians, hard to tell.
I think you inadverdently inverted the percentages columns in the first table.
Is there one with Black independents, republicans and democrats? That would be interesting. Also, for people who get all snippy when ever anyone says something they feel impugns their patriotism, Democrats sure look less patriotic than Republicans in these tables. I also am willing to bet the Very Strong and Extremely Strong responses for American Blacks are two to three times the levels of white europeans asked the same question.
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