Two weeks ago on his HBO show "Real Time," comedian, social commentator and movie producer Bill Maher said something to the effect he would believe race had not played a role in the 2008 presidential election "When Tuscaloosa, Alabama, votes for Barack Obama."
Well, guess what, Bill, our fine city of 80,000 or so on the banks of the lovely Black Warrior River, went overwhelmingly for Obama, 62 percent to 38 percent, by my preliminary, rough estimate.
Now it is true that Republican John McCain carried Tuscaloosa County 55.5 percent to 44.4 percent, but within the city limits of Tuscaloosa, which is a majority white city and the home of the University of Alabama (whose Crimson Tide football team is ranked number one in the country, in case you haven’t noticed), Democrat Obama had approximately 26,000 votes to about 15,600 for McCain. The countywide vote was 45,351 for McCain and 32,738 for Obama.
The Dish 