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September 6, 2008 1:38:07 AM CDT

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Obama Success Rewrites the Rules on Race

Posted Dec 29, 07 9:30 AM CST in Arts & Living,  Politics 

(Newser) – With only three black US Senators and two black governors elected since Reconstruction, and the vast majority of black politicians representing predominately black communities, veteran race watchers anticipated another decade before a candidate of color could be a top contender for the Oval Office. But that was before Obama. The Washington Post examines how Barack's unprecedented crossover success has changed thinking among black political leaders.

Jesse Jackson, who carried 13 primaries and caucuses when he ran in 1988, says Obama's success reveals more about white Americans than black: "We have not changed, African Americans. White America is changing, in many ways. There is, in a real sense today, a new generation of possibilities."

Source Washington Post

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Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaks at a campaign event Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2007, in Mason City, Iowa. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)   (Associated Press)
Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., shows reporters that he is paying cash at a Hy_Vee grocery story, while checking out after buying fruit and cookies Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2007,...   (Associated Press)
Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., acknowledges applause as he arrives for a campaign event in Mason City, Iowa, Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2007. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)   (Associated Press)
Presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., left, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson are seen at the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Awards Breakfast in Chicago in this Jan. 15, 2007 photo....   (Associated Press)
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Barack Obama  • election 2008  • Obama 2008  • race relations  • Jesse Jackson


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