This election is bringing out all of the ugliness that a lot of people -- particularly the elites of the Republican Party -- wanted to believe didn't exist, or more cynically, could continue to be exploit without having it rise to the surface for all to see. Take a read of this article in the NY Times about attitudes in the Deep South toward Barack Obama:
The McCain campaign’s depiction of Barack Obama as a mysterious “other” with an impenetrable background may not be resonating in the national polls, but it has found a receptive audience with many white Southern voters...
...“He’s neither-nor,” said Ricky Thompson, a pipe fitter who works at a factory north of Mobile, while standing in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart store just north of [Mobile]. “He’s other. It’s in the Bible. Come as one. Don’t create other breeds.”
