The Bradley Effect

Everyone tosses this around like it's common knowledge - that whites will lie about voting for a black person and then turn around and vote honky. If Obama wins will people stop talking about this phenomenon?

Is the thing even accurate? Polls are notoriously wrong - there are tons of elections, big and small, that swing as the last minute. Why this one single mayoral election is considered evidence of race being a last minute factor - I don't understand. Plus, the US is not LA. Believe me, this place is weird and what applies here doesn't necessarily apply nation-wide.

Lastly, I still don't get the I won't vote black logic. You're telling me there is a significant portion of the population who are dumb enough to be racist and yet smart enough to lie about it and politically aware enough to vote. I don't buy it. Not in this day and age.