"Obama Will Be Killed, So I'm Voting Against Him"

I'm still undecided, but this article in the New York Times really disturbs me. I remember reading how Michelle Obama's concern for her husband's safety was a factor in deciding whether Obama would run, and I remember reading how Obama's family had gotten Secret Service protection very early.

But what disturbs me even more is this sort of thinking:

"I fear that they just would kill him, that he wouldn't even have a chance," she said as she styled a customer's hair with a curling iron. One way to protect him, she suggested, would be not to vote for him.

And this:

"Personally, I don't feel the country is ready for an African-American," [another] said, adding matter-of-factly, "He would be killed."

There are plenty of reasons for voting for or against anyone. But this is not one of them.

If you're afraid that a racist will assassinate Obama because they don't want a black man to be president, then basing your vote on that just achieves the racist's goal faster, by having you do their dirty work for them. That would mean you don't want a black man to be president because a racist doesn't want a black man to be president. You're letting a racist tell you what to do. What the hell century is this?

Also, this concern:

Would a black man stir up racial tensions that would boomerang and set African-Americans back?

Would holding back African-Americans ourselves be any better?