Voters and color

In reading the article "Clinton makes Strong Pitch to Mid-America," June 26 - July 2 World Edition, I was struck by a certain dissonance with respect to the titular voting blocs mentioned. Whereas one could find "middle-of-the-road white voters" and "middle-class, white, Reagan Democrats," there existed only "black voters" and "blacks" in the words of the author or the analysts cited.

I was under the impression that black America had been shedding the effete skin of a politically predictable entity and that one could not ascertain voting preference based solely upon color.

Have not recent election figures borne out such a presumption, with black voters represented all over the political spectrum? As well, a quick summoning of some high-profile black Americans' names produced such discrepant voices as Colin Powell, Alice Walker, Clarence Thomas, and Spike Lee. Which one, then, is the black voter referred to in the piece? Andrew Heil, Prague

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