By Associated Press
GREENSBURG Pa.
Joyce Susick is the type of voter who might carry Barack Obama to the White House or keep him out. A registered Democrat in a highly competitive state, she is eager to replace George W. Bush, whom she ranks among the worst presidents ever.
There’s just one problem.
“I don’t think our country is ready for a Black president,” Susick, who is White, said in an interview in the paint store where she works. “A Black man is never going to win Pennsylvania.”
Susick said her personal objection to Obama is his inexperience, not his color. “It has nothing to do with race,” she said.
If Susick is right about Pennsylvania voters, it presents a major hurdle for the presumed Democratic nominee. Democrats have carried Pennsylvania in the last four presidential contests, and Obama would have to offset a loss of its 21 electoral votes by taking Republican-leaning states from John McCain.
