February is Black History month. It’s expected Barack Obama will announce his run for the US presidency today. Obama is not the first, before him came Al Sharpton, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Yea, let’s not overlook Allan Keyes. Who could forget!

And so it is, we’ll write another page in the history of America, recorded during Black History month.  

One UK paper, The Independent, sees the day as “A symbolic moment for America as Obama sets out for the White House”

“Today’s announcement by Senator Barack Obama that he will seek the Democratic nomination for the US presidency should be an inspiring occasion, and a highly symbolic one, too.

The 45 year-old senator for Illinois has chosen to stake his claim at the same State Capitol building in Springfield where Abraham Lincoln, the liberator of America’s slaves, served his political apprenticeship. Mr Obama’s many fans – and perhaps some of his rivals too – believe he could be elected the first black President of the United States.

Much can happen between now and November 2008. The public announcement is the very first step on a testing marathon of a campaign. Even to have a realistic shot at the presidency, Mr Obama has to raise a mountain of money and continue to raise it. He has to recruit a veritable army of advisers.

He has to tailor his appeal separately to the states where the early primaries are held, and then broaden it again for the states whose delegates will decide the party convention. Only then will his name even figure on the presidential ballot. He then has to possess the reserves of energy necessary to criss-cross the country many times until the final exhausting and exhilarating coast-to-coast sprint to get the vote out.
[.]

In the lead profile of Mr. Obama The Independent offered this:

The Great Black Hope: Obama sets out on his mission to excite and unite a divided nation.

“A gaffe, they say in politics, is when someone inadvertently blurts out the truth. Thus it was when Joe Biden, the incorrigibly loquacious senator from Delaware, held forth the other day about Barack Obama, his fellow aspirant for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. “Look,” he declared, “you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that’s a storybook, man.”

The remark was of course profoundly politically incorrect, and profuse apologies were instantly on their way to Jesse Jackson, Alan Keyes, and Al Sharpton, all blacks who have run for the White House in recent years, and all of presumably impeccable personal hygiene and boasting impressive rhetorical skills.

But deep down, Mr Biden was spot on. Mr Obama, the 45-year-old junior senator from Illinois, is different. He is the first African-American candidate with a realistic chance of winning. And the reason, as Mr Biden so clumsily made clear, is that to the white majority of the country he hardly seems black at all.”

[Obama’s]family history, coupled with a gentle manner and a political message of reconciliation and healing, make Mr Obama one of a select group of blacks – Tiger Woods and Colin Powell are two others that come to mind – who transcend race. Whites do not feel threatened by them. Rather they make Americans feel good about themselves and a society in which this sort of ascent is possible. All of which, of course, only makes many blacks suspicious.

And the question has been asked in African-American circles; Is Obama black enough?

Writes the Independent,

“A majority of blacks, say the polls, support Hillary Clinton, if only out of the warm glow inspired by the Clinton name. Nor should John Edwards, the third top-tier contender for the Democratic nomination be overlooked.”

Obama has no paper trail Mostly.

“Mr Obama has no such “form.” There is no risk of him making statements like “I actually voted for the $87bn before I voted against it,” that fatally nailed the Massachusetts senator and had him branded as as a “flip-flopper.”

As for complaints that Mr Obama lacks the experience to lead America in a desperately complicated world, his response is simple and devastating. The Bush administration, with the likes of Powell, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld had perhaps the most experienced national security team in US history, he says – and look what a mess they made of things in Iraq, and what they’ve done for America’s good name in the world. Enough said.

Wow! Enough to get you excited?

“At this point, the mantle of JFK fits easily on his shoulders. In reality, a president Barack Obama would be 47 when he took office, four years older than Kennedy was on Inauguration Day 1961.”

But he projects something of Camelot’s glamour and excitement, and shares Kennedy’s self-deprecating charm, not to mention his stirring ability as a speaker, and has an ability to attract powerful supporters.

His emerging campaign team is very strong. His fundraising ability, even with the formidable Clinton machine ranged against him, is massive. If New York is lining up behind Mrs Clinton, Chicago is going with Mr Obama and – even in Clinton-besotted Hollywood – the big donors are giving the man from Illinois a very serious look.[.]

So, where does that leave Hillary? In British lingo,

Hillary fights to retain pole position

Not by Terry McCauliffe. Terry does not agree…. “It’s her turn”

“The former chairman of the Democratic Party is backing their other star to take the nomination. “She is winning,” he said at a party in Washington to launch his newly-penned book. “It’s her turn.”

Now, really Terry. There you go again – that dynasty thing. Why is it Hillary’s turn? Why is she so entitled?

From the first linked article:

[Obama] “has one signal policy advantage. In an election where the Iraq war is likely to be an issue, Mr Obama has the distinction of having opposed it all along.”

These are, it cannot be stressed too much, very early days in the 2008 presidential race. But the enthusiastic head of steam Mr Obama’s incipient campaign has already built up starts the contest on an especially positive note. It marks a new stage in the long overdue entry of black Americans into the political mainstream.
[.]

Obamamania. It may be catching. Or is it Hillary’s turn?