From the latest issue of the Economist written by an author with the pseudonym Lexington:
Democrats have a Caucasian problem. It is not new: no Democratic presidential candidate has won the white vote since Lyndon Johnson. Mr Obama actually did better among whites than John Kerry did. But in the past year white voters have become grumpier, and this is especially true of white males. There is even talk of a repeat of 1994, when a surge of “angry white men” helped Republicans take over both chambers of Congress.
Sixteen years ago, it was blue-collar white men who were the angriest. This year, too, they are smarting. The recession has hit hardest the most macho trades, such as building and manufacturing. Two-thirds of the jobs destroyed since it began belonged to blue-collar men. Black men have been worse affected than whites, but their loyalty to Mr Obama and his party is unshakeable. Not so for white men, whose unemployment rate was a comfortable 3.9% in 2006 and still only 6.8% when Mr Obama was elected, but is now a painful 10.3%. Those who can no longer provide for their families feel emasculated. Those who still have jobs fear losing them. Since Democrats now run Washington, Democrats get most of the blame. And white men are disproportionately sceptical of Mr Obama’s proposed solutions. Seven out of ten prefer small government to big government. “I don’t like the way they’re giving away all that money,” says Steve Roberts, a welder in Arkansas. “I think you should work for your money.”
http://www.economist.com/world/united-states/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15606284