2012 Decoded

Two more new national polls released Thursday point toward a presidential election that could divide the nation along racial lines at least as sharply as the 2008 campaign.

In 2008, Barack Obama became the first candidate ever to lose whites by double digits and win the White House (John McCain beat him among whites by 55 percent to 43 percent), on the strength of support from a cumulative 80 percent from all minority voters.

Several national surveys released earlier this week showed Obama displaying patterns of support reminiscent of 2008, but facing the likelihood of erosion among whites-and the possibility of an even wider racial chasm.