The July 3rd issue of The Economist has a provocatively titled essay, White Men Can Vote, which points out:

According to the polls, Mr Obama beats Mr McCain in nearly every group except white men. Unfortunately for Mr Obama, there are a lot of white men. In 2004 they were roughly 36% of the electorate, and they preferred George Bush to John Kerry by about 25 points. This year, Mr McCain leads Mr Obama by about 20 points among them.

. . . . . . . .

[David Paul] Kuhn thinks the Democrats’ failure to take white men seriously is the main reason they keep losing presidential elections. The party captures liberal white men—typically prosperous professionals—but scores badly among businessmen and white male workers. Part of the problem is that Democrats are identified with the notion that white men are to blame for all the world’s ills, from racism to the oppression of the workers. Few white men share this view. Many are workers themselves.

The Economist piece also points out that “[t]he “people” section on [Obama's] website divides Americans into 17 categories: Latinos, women, First Americans, environmentalists, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people, Americans with disabilities, Asian-Americans and Pacific islanders and so on. There is no mention of whites, or men.”

David Paul Kuhn is Senior Political Reporter for Politico.com and author of The Neglected Voter: White Men and the Democratic Dilemma. He’s my first guest on the Wednesday, July 16 edition of The Paul Edwards Program.