The issues or race?

When analyzing the political history of Maryland it is interesting to read that it has a history of voting Democratic, mostly due to the large percentage of blacks in its population. The National Journal Almanac discusses Maryland's demographics explaining that the blacks that make up the Democratic voters do not fit the usual Democratic profile. They are affluent and well educated, however they still vote like those with less education and who are less well off. This stood out to me as an issue not only in Maryland, but also in this election across the board.

Have the parties moved from being about issues to being about race? While I know that there are black Republicans, even Maryland's very own Michael Steele who ran for Senator in 2006, it seems as though many people are voting in this election and in Maryland historically for particular candidates or the parties because of their race.

What makes this even more interesting is Barack Obama takes a strong stance in showing how this election should not be about race, and trying to prove to the American public that he represents all walks of life and all races of people. However, are people voting for him simply because they are black? Is he thriving off of the black vote?