Spartan Echo

Section: Opinion

Media Credit: AP Photo/Rick Bowmer Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., makes remarks during a town hall meeting to discuss strengthening America's economy, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008, in Austin, Texas.

When Obama first announced that he desired to run for president, many predicted he would drop out of the race due to insufficient funds and the lack of support. However, when it was discovered that he would have the necessary funds, other candidates got a little nervous. Now that he has won over twenty states in the primaries and over 2,250 pledged delegates, Senator Obama has been deemed a force to be reckoned with.

Although he has an overwhelming following and his popularity is growing by the second, many wonder if his success comes from his stance on the many issues facing our country or the African-American community's desire to have "a black president."

Due to the decisions made by President Bush in recent years, Americans yearn for change. This was the perfect time for a woman and an African-American to run for the presidency. After several caucuses and primaries, it wasn't hard to see that the Democratic nominee would either be Clinton or Obama. Though initially Clinton had the respect and admiration of many, her dirty political tactics have reduced her following. Interviews and surveys held after certain primaries revealed that voters respected the fact that Senator Obama did not degrade himself by attacking his opponent.

The competition between Senator Clinton and Senator Obama is said to be responsible for record breaking involvement. The number of voters that were involved in determining the primaries has surpassed the country's previous involvement in years. Obama himself has been credited with the overwhelming response from college students.
Obama's campaign has even sparked the interest of Norfolk State students. Conversations in the cafeteria and the Chick-Fil-A line now involve the recent debate or the question of his ultimate success.
Though there were many who planned to vote for him based on his race, a startling number of students are actually paying attention to the issues. Furthermore, many Caucasian students also want to see him in the White House. The majority of the students here want to see change also and, since this will be the first voting experience for the majority of the student population, this election holds an additional importance.

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