I think it’s more about anti-Muslim, anti-Arab racism. Obama is seen as being sympathetic, converted, a believer of, etc. of Islam. This arouses deep-seated hatred (some of it from 9/11) in many Americans.

Yet this type of racism – hatred of Arabs or Muslims – is tacitly approved of and accepted in America. For proof, look at McCain’s “defense” of Obama when a women in his audience called Obama an Arab.

McCain corrected the woman and said “No, he’s a decent family man.”

Decent family man is the opposite of Arab?

Yet this was repeated – verbatim – by major newspapers, furthering the stereotype for Americans by printing that Obama is not an Arab, but a “decent family man.”

In the end, it is hatred and intolerance of Islam and people from the Middle East that will drive any Bradley Effect in this election.