It's out there.

Regardless of the protests over U.S. Rep. John Murtha's remark Wednesday that Western Pennsylvania was "a racist area" -- and his subsequent apology -- many people who live in this region believe Sen. Barack Obama's skin color will be a factor in this election.

One of them is John Kashin, of Mount Pleasant.

Over a lunchtime hamburger and a beer at Perry's Pub and Grille in Greensburg, the 33-year old, who works for a window manufacturing company, described himself as "not exactly a racist person. But I am not ready for a black president and I don't think the country is."

Asked why, he hesitated.

"From my experience growing up, I've grown up around white people so maybe I'm not that comfortable around blacks. I've had negative run-ins with minorities. They were not good experiences. They get on an ego power trip and say 'I'm here, now do something, you owe me.' "

Across Greensburg's main street, at a coffee shop, Brandon Allshouse, 20, said he's voting for John McCain "because he's a Christian. Obama is not. I heard he's a Muslim and that he took the oath of office on the Quran."

Told that was untrue, he shook his head in disbelief. "It's what I've heard and what my whole family has heard."

At the Hot Metal Diner in West Mifflin, George Opsitos, 68, predicted Mr. Obama may lose the election because of his color.

"People aren't saying anything, but when it comes time to vote, there are people who will never vote for a black man or a woman," the 68-year-old Munhall resident said.

Mr. Obama, he added, "is snooty, arrogant, elitist. As this thing goes along he acts like he's won it. He's got this attitude, you know?"

His wife agreed.

"There's a lot of blacks I love, don't get me wrong," said Barb Opsitos, 61. "At my mother's nursing home, I laugh with them, talk with them. I don't want to sound prejudiced but she [Michelle Obama] comes across like, 'you owe me.' I just don't like her. There's something very 'up' there, like she's above it all."

As election day draws closer, and with Mr. Obama leading Sen. John McCain in the polls, pundits, politicians and pollsters have been wondering whether the first African-American Democratic nominee for president may in fact lose the election.

"Any American politician who says [racism] isn't a factor in this presidential race is lying or really stupid," said U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa. "It's out there, and it's an issue in this campaign."

Consider the "Bradley effect" -- when, in 1982, Tom Bradley, the first black man to be elected mayor of Los Angeles, lost the governor's race even though he led in voter opinion polls by substantial margins. Some experts believe that voters simply weren't willing to tell pollsters they wouldn't vote for a black man.

Douglas Wilder, the first black governor of Virginia, barely won in 1989 even though polls showed him being way ahead.

Deval Patrick, a black man who won the Massachusetts governor's race in 2006 by predicted margins, can barely contain his exasperation at the current preoccupation with Mr. Obama's race and how it will affect him 18 days from now.

"We are all wound up trying to predict what's going to happen before it happens," he said in an interview earlier this week while campaigning in Pittsburgh for Mr. Obama.

"Nobody knows what the Bradley effect is. It happened in California 25 years ago, for goodness' sake. I won every county in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, by a lot, and our African-American population is less than 8 percent."

"I'm surprised that people are surprised" that race is an issue in this election, said Dr. Larry E. Davis, Dean of the School of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh, who believes, nonetheless, that "what's happening in America is that race is becoming less important," at least among a younger generation of voters, "and I think this Obama phenomenon is proof of that."

Older voters "and those in some places that are not as progressive and are more parochial" are going to be more conservative, "not just on race, but on gender and class and the arts and notions of sexuality and sexual education," he added.

"I'm a little uncomfortable just painting this broad brush of conservatism with the word racism -- these people are more conservative about their views of the world, period," Dr. Davis said.

While age and class play roles in people's racial attitudes, regional considerations have to be factored in, too. In Western Pennsylvania, he noted, demographic studies show whites here are worse off than whites in other areas on income, education, mental health, criminal justice, status of families and race relations.

Still, he said, "I think we have to acknowledge that millions of white people are voting for this guy and that's commendable. It used to be a foregone conclusion that the whole state of Pennsylvania would not have voted for a black candidate, but now we're talking about portions of the state, and that's progress. "

Young people are more open to diversity, within limits, added Steve Robbins a Vietnamese American diversity consultant. For many students, "having a black president is a cool thing, maybe even a countercultural thing, but I don't think they know how to dive into really understanding what race issues are about. They grew up with very different experiences than other generations, but even with young people today, it's tough for them to talk about tough issues on race or gender."

While most of them will have no trouble voting for Obama, he said, on the other hand, "I do think there are some older folks who don't want to sound biased when they talk to a pollster, but in the voting booth they will vote the other way."

Julia Christopher, 50, of Norvelt, says she's struggling whether to vote for Mr. Obama, "not because he's black, but because I just don't know him. I was such a Hillary Clinton supporter."

Sitting in the sunshine on a park bench in front of the Westmoreland County courthouse, she said she hoped people would put aside their prejudices this time.

"Any Democrat who goes into the polling booth and says, 'I can't vote for this candidate because he has black blood,' well, I say, shame on you. When it comes to a decision like this one, with all the trouble we're in in this country, you've just got to go deeper than that."

All this discourse on an emotional subject is probably healthy, said Mr. Patrick, the Massachusetts governor.

"Let's talk about it," he said. "Let's call it out. There's nothing to be hesitant about."

He then recalled a comment made by one of the many overseas visitors -- from heads of state to foreign businessmen -- he meets.

"They're very, very interested in Barack Obama's candidacy, and once, I asked one why, and his response was so beautiful.

"He said, we are watching to see if America is who she says she is."