Obama Watch: Will Blacks Support Obama?

The upcoming South Carolina democratic primary will be pivotal to the Obama campaign. Having now lost the New Hampshire and Nevada primaries to Sen. Hillary Clinton, this will be the real test on whether Sen. Obama can rally the support of the African-American vote in South Carolina. Very early on the polls indicated that Sen. Clinton had a comfortable lead among the Black voters, but after winning in Iowa, many Black voters believed that maybe Obama could win.

Leading up to the South Carolina contest, we have seen that the two, top democratic contenders are making this contest personally. Even former President Clinton, who was touted as America’s “first Black President” because of his close ties to the African-American community, has become more visible and very vocal with supporting his wife’s bid for the presidency. Obama even has even quipped that he is “running against both Clintons.”

What will be important is whether African-American leaders, especially the powerfully influencing Black clergy, will come out and publicly support Obama’s bid for the presidency. A recent article that appeared in The Christian Post (written by Alexis Stodghill) indicates Obama’s campaign launched a new committee featuring top African-American religious leaders supporting the presidential contender's bid for the Democratic nomination. This African American Leadership Committee is composed of denominational heads, civil rights leaders, as well as prominent female faith leaders who believe that Obama is living out his faith and values in his public life. The committee members, both at the national and statewide levels, meet on regular conference calls to support the Illinois senator.

The article goes on to say, the campaign made significant gains in South Carolina, where its state leadership committee includes nearly 130 senior pastors from some of the largest and most prominent churches in the state. Quoting Reverend Otis Moss, Jr., Co-Chair of the National African American Religious Committee, "This is an unprecedented group for an unprecedented candidate.As a lifelong advocate for the less fortunate and the forgotten, Senator Obama lives his faith everyday. He continues to talk about a faith that works to unite and not divide people."

According to the religious website Beliefnet.com, Obama is currently ranked as the Democratic candidate that speaks the most about religion by the "God-o-Meter." The "God-o-Meter" measures "God talk" in the presidential campaign.

But the real test will be whether the Black vote in South Carolina will come out and vote for him. Oprah Winfrey visited South Carolina with Obama for a campaign rally, but we’ve heard the derogatory remarks given by Robert Johnson, the founder of BET and now owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. He later apologized, but this again shows the division that always will occur as people express their personal preferences and support their personal agendas!

So the question is, “Will Blacks Support Obama’s bid for the presidency?” Let me hear from you.