Score 1 for Mr. Obama

Barack Obama made US political history last night by scoring an impressive victory at the Democratic primaries in Iowa, beating a field of candidates made up of well-known names such as former First Lady and current Senator Hillary Clinton (New York), former Senator John Edwards (South Carolina), long-time Senators Christopher Dodd (Connecticut) and Joseph Biden (Delaware). It was the first time in US history that a black man scored a victory in an election primary. What makes his victory all the more impressive was that it was achieved in a midwestern state where 95% of the population was white.

Obama's victory sends a clear signal that the American electorate clearly wants a change in the country's political environment. They are hungry for a candidate who can unify a country that has been politically polarized since the early 1990s. They want a change in the country's political direction and fresh ideas on US foreign policy, especially in the war on terror and the Iraqi occupation.

As a politician on the national stage, Mr. Obama cannot be considered as a very experienced one. He is on the third year of his first term as a US Senator from the state of Illinois. Up to this point, he has not authored any major bill that has been passed into law. Though a lawyer by profession, he does not have significant professional experience representing anybody before a court.

One thing I find quite remarkable with Mr. Obama is the fact that he rarely mentions his race in his campaign speeches. Unlike black candidates who went before him (Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton), Mr. Obama looks at problems of poverty, poor education, lack of medical care, unemployment, and other social ills as national problems and not as problems of just one particular race. In a time when everybody in the US seems to be a hyphenated American (Irish-American, African-American, Chinese-American, etc.), Mr. Obama appeals to a divided nation by presenting himself as simply an American.

His victory last night showed that the American people are willing to roll the dice on someone they think would present a fresh American face and fresh ideas to the world. In a state with a significant white majority, the people clearly showed that they were willing to look beyond one's race in the search for fresh ideas and more importantly, in their search for a unifying influence.

It is still quite early to tell if Mr. Obama would eventually capture the Democratic nomination for President. A lot of campaign primaries lie ahead. He has formidable opponents in Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Edwards, both armed with well-funded and sophisticated political machineries. Campaign primaries in the southern states would be especially tough for Mr. Obama given that racial attitudes, especially in the Deep South, have not changed much since the end of the American Civil War in 1865.

This is just my observation but I think at this point, Mr. Obama has captured the US public's imagination with his idealism and statesmanlike demeanor. Unlike a number of his political opponents, he has run a very positive campaign that has managed to stir clear of personal attacks and misleading political spin. In a number of ways, he has already changed the political game. It would be quite interesting to see how things pan out for him in the months ahead. Stay tuned.