AP Poll: So Much for the 'No Racism' Myth

 Romney rally in Ohio: Getty Images

We've heard the argument all autumn--racism is a tiny factor (if a factor at all) in explicit hatred of Obama and general drift toward whiter-than-white Romney.  Now the Associated Press is out with a poll showing that not only do a majority of Americans harbor some anti-black views ("whether they recognize those feelings or not"), that number has actually grown since Obama took office--up from 51% to 56%.

AP:  "Those views could cost President Barack Obama votes as he tries for re-election, the survey found, though the effects are mitigated by some people’s more favorable views of blacks."  They said racist views will cost Obama 5% of the vote, while pro-black views gain him 3%, so he loses 2% on balance. 

And anti-Hispanic views are held by 57%.  

AP found a wide partisan gap, with 79% of Republicans vs. 32% of Dems expressing anti-black views.  The AP developed the surveys "to measure sensitive racial views in several ways and repeated those studies several times between 2008 and 2012," they relate.  They ask questions to tease how prejudicial views, such as whether people in ethnic groups are viewed as lazy, or if you are less likely to vote for someone because of their race.

The poll found that only 49% believe Obama was born in the U.S., with 39% still saying he was born in another country.  The rest would not offer an opinion.   Still, the wingnuts quickly denounced the poll, or rather, "poll," as they put it.

Other findings, when you drill down:  23% consider Obama "socialist"  and 18% call him "un-American." Some 33% ID him as Protestant or Catholic with 10% calling him Muslim--and 18% saying he is Jewish.   The poll sample was 1,057 adults with margin of error about 3.5%, with 35% Dem and 27% GOPers.  The sample was 67% white. Full results here.