Poll indicates Obama aiding race relations

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- The election of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., as the next U.S. president has most citizens hopeful that race relations will improve, poll results indicate.

A USA Today/Gallup Poll found that of the 1,036 people polled since Obama's victory on Election Day, two-thirds of respondents said race relations between black and white citizens would improve dramatically in the future, the newspaper said Friday.

Two-thirds of all black respondents in the poll said the United States would one day solve its racial problems.

The results marked a dramatic increase from a similar poll five months ago that found only half of all black respondents were that hopeful about improving race relations nationwide, USA Today said.

Civil rights leader Roger Wilkins said the election of Obama and the results of the poll, which had a margin of error of 3 percent, were a reflection of a changing nation.

"Barack didn't elect himself; we Americans elected him," Wilkins told USA Today. "And I think that there are lots and lots of people who say, 'Damn, we're not as racist as we thought we were,' so they're pleased."