nearly 70 percent of Americans say the country is ready for a black president, a new CBS News poll shows.
Sixty-eight percent of Americans say the country is ready - up 6 points from March and 14 points from January. Eight years ago, only 38 percent of those polled said the country was ready for a black president.
Nearly two in three registered voters - 63 percent - say that most people they know would vote for a black president. But roughly one in four believe that most of the people they know would not.
Democrats (at 67 percent) are slightly more likely than Republicans (at 61 percent) to say most people they know would vote for a black candidate. Older Americans are less likely to respond that people they know would do so: Just 58 percent of those 65 and older say most of the people they know would vote for a black candidate. By contrast, 70 percent of respondents under 30 years old said those they know would do so.
Some of the largest differences are by region. Seventy-two percent of those who live in the West say most people they know would vote for a black person for president. Sixty-six percent in the Northeast and 64 percent in the Midwest agree. But the figure is lowest in the South, where just 54 percent say most people they know would vote for an African-American for president. 33 percent there say most people they know would not.
