Shame on you, West Virginia

The Washington Post catalogues numerous incidents of horrific racism during the West Virginia primary, including a voter who asked for Obama to be lynched. On the Daily Kos, John K Wilson glumly breaks down the figures to expose a hard reality.

As the West Virginia primary shows us, in many parts of the country racism is alive and well and controlling our political process. Many commentators assume that Obama's success with the young and well-educated is due to some "elitist" support he has among the latte-sipping crowd. The real reason is racism. Younger people are less likely to embrace racist views. Well-educated people are less likely to embrace racist views. And that makes all the difference in America, where the continuing significance of race can be measured with alarming detail in West Virginia's primary.

We agree, and we find it all the more troubling that so many commentators, particularly those leaning towards Hillary Clinton, insist that these are the kind of bread-and-butter voters that Obama doesn't have the wherewithal to win. In fairness, it is very easy to brow-beat one of the country's most impoverished, least diverse regions. But it would be tragic indeed if American democracy hinges on intractable bigotry.