I think there's no doubt that, on some level, race will play a factor in the election. On the one extreme you have Jacob Weisberg's Slate article, declaring that "Racism is the only reason McCain might beat [Obama]"; on the other end you have this new Associated Press-Yahoo News poll, which shows a much more different landscape.

The poll, however, shows that blacks and whites see racial discrimination in starkly different terms. When asked "how much discrimination against blacks" exists, 10 percent of whites said "a lot" and 45 percent said "some."

Among blacks, 57 percent said "a lot" and all but a fraction of the rest said "some."

Asked how much of America's existing racial tension is created by blacks, more than one-third of white respondents said "most" or "all," and 9 percent said "not much." Only 3 percent of blacks said "most" or "all," while half said "not much at all."

Nearly three-fourths of blacks said white people have too much influence in American politics. Only 12 percent of whites agreed. Almost three times as many blacks as whites said blacks have too little influence.

Far more blacks than whites say government officials "usually pay less attention to a request or complaint from a black person than a white person."

One in five whites have felt admiration for blacks "very" or "extremely" often. Seventy percent of blacks have felt the same about whites.

The poll is interesting because it reveals very different views of racism between the races, and how an Obama loss could be perceived. But a word of caution for Democrats, like Weisberg, quick on the draw to name racism the only reason for Obama's loss: This battle is between the moderates and Independents, and between the Reagan Democrats. Citing racism would mean essentially calling those moderate voters, many Democrats, racist.