US Ready For a Black President?

Not sure.. but a predominantly white state thinks so. The mid western state of Iowa has chosen Barak Obama over Hillary Clinton (and John Edwards) as their choice for Democratic Nominee for the 2008 Presidential election.

In the end, this historic Iowa vote may not mean much in the overall scheme of things and Mrs. Clinton might still win the Democratic Primary. But this is indeed a giant step in a country where race relations evoke extreme reactions and a subtle race under current is always present in all spheres of the society.

Once thing is certain though, Anyone who wins the Democratic primary is bound become the next President of US. Not because Democrats are any better, but Mr. Bush has done enough harm to the Republican cause and has alienated the public so much that any Democratic candidate would find it easy. Mr. Bush has done what Democrats couldn't have done themselves. Mr. Bush's war on terror may have prevented another terrorist attack on the US soil, but hundreds of Americans (and thousands of Iraqis and Afghanis) have died in the name of war on terror which is spreading its tentacles to Pakistan as well.

This will be the first US presidential election that I am going to be watching remotely in a while. I used to enjoy the spectacle of '30 second sound bites', spin masters and unending drama unfold in TV the first few elections and later also on the web. This time around, youtube is playing a big role in the elections with interesting twists and turns. I am digressing here.. let's get back to Mr. Obama..

Even if Mr. Obama doesn't make it, it is still significant that Iowa has voted for a black democract. It shows the sign of things to come and how US is slowly coming to terms with the diversity.