Does a black presidential candidate run the risk of assassination? The New York Times reports that among black women in South Carolina considering voting for Barack Obama, several expressed "an almost maternal concern for Mr Obama's safety".
Gilda Cobb-Hunter, a Democratic state representative from Orangeburg, SC, who has not endorsed anyone in the primary, said she had heard black women say they were afraid for Obama. "This really troubled me," Ms Cobb-Hunter said. "Maybe it's a Southern thing. They want to protect him from the bad people, and in order to protect him, they won't support him. They want to see him around, making a difference."
