As George W. Bush works to unite the country in the aftermath of the election, a new Gallup poll indicates that he will have an especially difficult time gaining the support of black Americans. While the contested election divided the country along party lines, it also apparently had a particularly significant impact within the African-American community. Throughout the post-election period, there has been an extreme partisan divide in public perception of the Gore campaign s effort to hold manual recounts in Florida, and, ultimately, about the outcome. These negative perceptions of the election system on the part of African Americans extend beyond this election and Florida. White Democrats are less negative in their perceptions.
Republicans are much less likely to see bias at both levels.
Bush s Efforts to Reach Out to Minorities Suffered a Major Setback George W. Bush has taken several opportunities this year to stress his efforts to make the Republican Party more inclusive of minorities. The post-election process, however, has apparently muted the perception among black Americans that he will actually work towards this end. Seventy percent of blacks now say that Bush will not work hard to represent the interests of black Americans. 3 percentage points. 6 percentage points.