Exercise Your Right to VOTE

Yes, Senator Barack Obama won the South Carolina primary by a landslide margin, and yes, he was by the best-known family in Democratic politics, first by Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President Kennedy, and then by Senator Edward Kennedy. And excitement is widespread throughout the Black community, for this is the first time that a Black candidate has a real shot at the presidency. His youth and energy have drawn comparisons to John F. Kennedy during his run.

Yes Senator Obama has a real shot. He has not won. He has not even won the Democratic race. In South Carolina, Black voters made up more than half the electorate. We will have a much better picture after next Tuesday when 22 states will be voting including the state with the largest population, California, and New York, with the second largest population. Of the states that vote on February 5th, only Georgia has a Black population equal to that of South Carolina. Maybe that will not make any difference since he won in Iowa and came in a close second in New Hampshire, where the Black population is very small. If the senator is to win the nomination he must once again prove he can reach his goal “to get beyond…racial politics.

It appears that Senator Obama is getting endorsed from all the major players of the Democratic Party, excluding the Clintons of course, with the exception of a sector where he should have been endorsed first. Other than Oprah Winfrey and Jesse Jackson, I haven’t heard of any so called “Black leaders” committing an endorsement. Al Sharpton, Bob Johnson, Representative John Lewis of Georgia, etc., all appear to have placed their own agendas and interests before the people that put them in the positions they hold. Could it be they have debts to pay?

At any rate, WE all have to get out and do what thousands fought, bleed and died for in the 1950’s and 60’s. YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO VOTE. EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT.