Barak Obama is he the MAN

He has that old black magic, excuse the racial pun no offense intended. It is ok because Barak can take a joke. But what about the rest of the African - Americans? One question I have not heard asked is how do black people in this country feel about a black president?. I work around a lot of Afican Americans, I have never heard them talk about it except that they are sure Barak will be assasinated before he gets elected.

In Kenya last Wednesday, the biggest newspaper in the country ran a full front page picture of Barak Obama with the caption "America finally walks its talk " . The Europeans love Barak. The only problem is that it creates the illusion that there is racial equality in America. America is more segragated now than it has ever been. No one talks about it anymore. Everyone knows the score and stays on their side of the invisible line.

Forty years ago in 1968 this country was coming apart at the seams. There were riots, peaceful demostrations and civil rights marches. In 1968 there was the Bobby Kenndy and MLK assainations. At a protest against the Vietnam war at Kent State, 4 college students were shot dead by the National Guard. 4 dead in Ohio. The race riots injured and killed even more.

The reason this is important is the economic crisis we are sliding into is going to make the issue of rights very important again. What is going to happen when there are gas riots and food riots? Think it cannot happen? It is happening all over the world right now. What will Barak do about civil unrest - call out the National Guard, or go declare a national emergency and start rationing. I think once Barack is sworn in you are going to see him exercise presidential powers we did not know existed.

Mr.Obama is a very charismatic man. Perhaps he can rally the nation around the themes of conservation and effcient use of resources and the devlopment of alternative energy sources. I love that phrase - it really says 'technolgies that have not been invented yet'. Perhaps he can give it the space race feel of the 1960's. But he is going to have to set down rules. Rules that some people are going to feel are wrong. Suppose Barak cuts the speed limit to 55 mph everywhere and goes to odd and even gas purchasing like we did in the early 1970s. Do most motorists feel it is their right to go 65mph?

You can see how this is going to work. Even the simplist restrictions on people's mobility is going to produce howls of protest and indignation. People in America today have a pretty good standard of living. It is going to interesting to see how nasty and outraged people are going to get when the going gets tough.

Barak Obama enjoys seeing others get the spot light and the love. I believe this is his greatest strength. He is going to have to manage the worst crisis in America's history and he going to need good people in positions of power and let them shine. It is going to be a rough four years. I have felt from the first time I heard Mr. Obama speak he had a undenible destiny. I hope for my sake and the sake of the country that he really is as special as he seems to be.