He is young and though a freshman, Senator Barack Obama is a serious contender for the top job in the country.
The Howard University debate in Washington may not have brought out clarity about how the democratic presidential candidates would go about doing their task for obliterating the ‘color line’, fighting poverty, public health and education systems, but the credentials of Obama are the strongest among the black support for the democrats.
The sharply divided Supreme Court verdict has given enough ammunition to charge up the Democratic campaigns against racial discrimination, but America does not yet appear to be ready for a black President. The other possible powerful contender Colin Powel, has so far not shown any inclination to enter the presidential race from the republican party.
This is how he once introduced himself:-
‘I was born in Oslo, Norway, the son of a Volvo factory worker and part-time ice fisherman,’ a mock self-tribute begins. ‘My mother was a backup singer for Abba. They were good folks.’ In Chicago, ‘I discovered I was black, and I have remained so ever since.’
That has not stopped him from upsetting stereotypes. Obama was the first President of Harvard Law Review, by itself a no mean achievement.
Obama, a survivor and achiever, despite strong racial divisions prevailing, is up there, vying with powerful New York Senator Hillary Clinton for the democratic nomination. The two have already raised record funding for their campaigns. The two also add to the racial as well as gender issues up for debate among the voters.
Besides these issues, the candidate contesting for the democrat nomination who can put forth clear views on which side he or she is on issues like the growing divide of the rich and the poor, the public health care system and the public education system, which breaches color lines, is bound to be find favor with the electorate.
Banking on a negative campaign and hoping to cash in on the low ratings of Republican President Bush’s mistakes, be it his reaction to Katrina hurricane or his rushing into war with Iraq, does not assure the Democrats the Presidency in 2008. A radical Republican candidate will soon overcome the Bush legacy, once the primaries get over.
Obama popularity among the young is on the rise and as the New York Times/CBS News/MTV poll shows, as of now he even scores over Hillary Clinton but the real testing times are yet to begin. How far he gets in this, we don’t know, but he surely is a frontrunner who may just be America’s first black President.
