It’s official: Obama is running for the White House.

He is the personification of the American dream–rising from the humblest of roots to obtain an Ivy League education and then launch a political career that could culminate with the ultimate prize. He also has a facility with words that make him remarkably eloquent. These qualities have combined to make him a media sensation and a cultural phenomenon.

But is being a cultural phenomenon enough to win the White House? Does he have what it takes? Some have accused him of being silver-tongued, that he says what he thinks people want to hear–and that diametrically opposed individuals who listen to him each come away convinced that Obama is on their side. Maybe that’s true, maybe not–surely the harsh spotlight of a presidential campaign will soon pin him down on his positions and test his political acumen.

There’s also the 800 pound gorilla in the room that nobody seems to want to discuss: is America ready for a black president? It’s a sensitive question, but it simply must be asked.

I sure hope the answer is yes, that we’ve come far enough along that a person’s skin color (or gender) is not an impediment to reaching the White House. The shenanigans that surrounded Harold Ford’s Senate race in Tennessee (which he lost) gives me pause, however. It was a race replete with racism and innuendo, including a commercial featuring a scantily-clad white woman asking Ford to call her, obviously playing into people’s stereotypes and fears about black men with white women. Will we see more of the same with Obama? It’s an obnoxious truth that many people still hold racist feelings, whether they say so aloud or not–and it is unknown how powerfully this will play into a presidential vote.

All he can do is try, and in that I wish him success. Whether the race goes his way or someone else’s, I’ll be watching and ready to help the Democratic winner take Virginia in November 2008. Virginia has now twice elected a Democratic governor and more recently a Democratic senator. It has become a quintessential battleground state, one that can be delivered to the Democrats in the electoral vote. What a sweet upset that would be…and I intend to help make it happen.

Tags: 2008-election, democrats, obama, virginia