Lagos — Does Senator Barack Obama have all it takes to become the next President of the United States of America? Several media analysts publicly swear by him and think he may just be able to carry the responsibilities of being in the White House on his back without any trouble at all.

They sing about his ability to carry the audience along during political debates and convince an audience about his genuineness. Though one can not help noticing that a sentence or two about Obama's experience deficit more often than not pops up at the end of most media progress reports.

As far as Obama's policies go, one news magazine describes some of his pronouncements as "bizarre" and notes that he is unprepared (euphemism for lacking in courage) to differ from the thinking of the party base. It concludes that he needs to beef up his content to make up for his lack of experience.

If he has one thing that stands him in good stead with the anti-war lobby that's the fact that he has been consistent about his stand against the war in Iraq . Others think that he has one other thing that may stand him in good position to win the race: the colour of his skin. Although the candidate himself doesn't appear to personally push this as a unique selling point! One international newspaper says his face offers "an effective potential re-branding of the United States ". In other words America 's unpopularity around the world can be fixed with a black face. Hence what Americans need at this point in time is a black President.

But just how true is this in present day America where racial profiling is said to still hold sway? Though this is vehemently denied racial profiling as adopted by some law enforcement agencies means that people - Black and Hispanic men in particular- are more likely to stopped and searched than their white counterparts.

Many for fear of being branded racist recoil from asking this all pertinent blunt question on a subject that still holds sway in present day America. Media analysts deftly avoid this issue which is clearly an elephant in the room. One of such frontal questions is: Is America ripe for a black man to occupy that most powerful seat in the world? Are Americans truly ready for a Black first family? Has white America truly purged itself of its notorious resistance to interracial harmony? Obama represents all white America has been struggling to prevent. His father was African from Kenya and he grew up in Indonesia and Hawaii . These are not the usual credentials of candidacy for the Anglo-Saxon White House and as we saw in the case of Republican Senator John McCain not necessarily acceptable to white America . A few years ago when Senator McCain made a bid for the White House he got a first hand taste of raw racism. The Senator was quickly reminded that he had an adopted child of Bangladeshi origin! A non-plussed world could only wonder in amazement about the connection between the two issues. It was however to be used as a crude weapon to discourage him from seeking higher political office.

The polls have now and again put Obama ahead of Mrs Clinton. This of course was helped along by his endorsement by talk show host Oprah Winfrey. This may have been a masterstroke by Obama's campaign strategists it however did not prevent the cynics from opining that the people really trooped out to see Oprah! Now Ms Oprah Winfrey is a real crowd puller. Her judgment on books or anything for that matter can make a big difference. But can she sway the minds of white America over the very serious issue of colour?

Obama's campaign theme is "Change: We can believe in". This indicates that though he may not be riding on his colour to get to where he is going he is very much aware of how it could help or hinder his ambition. The crucial question is: Will the colour of his skin not count against him?

In short its no longer news that race is still very much a raging issue in America . Many examples abound about how deep hatred for African Americans still exists in some parts of the country. The Jena 6 and the nooses are still fresh in the minds of Black Americans. The white supremacists and other kinds of right wing elements will have a lot to say about this. And for this simple reason if Obama somehow manages to beat Hillary to scale through the hurdles within the camp of the Democracts, he may not go much further unless white America confronts head on this demon that is ravaging their nation. His candidacy in fact may push Americans to return for another serving of Republicanism Iraq war or not. His nomination is also very likely to bring to the fore some of the contentious racial issues (not that they ever really went away!). Those who have been speaking in hushed tones for fear of being labelled racist will certainly begin to say it out aloud.

Obama is not the first black man to make a bid for the White House in recent times. In 1984 and 1988, Rev. Jesse Jackson courageously stepped forward to demonstrate that African- Americans can help to shape the political debates. To date no African-American has ever received the nomination of a major party. Many may have put themselves forward for higher political office but very few have sought the Big One.

As Americans prepare for the caucuses in Iowa and the pollsters are furiously reeling out the statistics it remains to be seen if the hugely popular, charismatic but largely untested Senator Barack Obama will ultimately power into the White House. I would gladly eat my words if he does!