The nomination of Barak Obama as the Democratic candidate for president is historic. For the first time a Black man is a candidate of a major political party. Obama is not a traditional Black candidate in that unlike Jesse Jackson he has no roots in the Black civil rights movement. Nevertheless, two decades ago, his nomination would have been unthinkable.
By today�s standards Obama seems left wing, that is, to the superficial observer. He talks about change and when he talks about representing all Americans he does make promises which assist the poor. Generally populist candidates do not. But there is no threat to capital posed. Obama still represents the rich but not as exclusively as Republican candidate John MacCain.
The reason why Obama stands a real chance lies in the decline of US imperialism and the arrogance of the Republicans. The US economy is suffering from the sub-prime mortgage crisis and other problems such as the high price of oil. The US is stuck in an extremely unpopular ongoing war in Iraq which has no end in sight and costs money. Obama has a consistent record of opposition to this war. Americans are angry at the slow pace of recovery for the City of New Orleans and Louisiana state which still hasn't recovered from Hurricane Katrina. All this angers Americans.
The ruling class fear gross disillusionment especially amongst the poor and Black Americans. Obama is their insurance policy. He offers hope and "change". His words are clever and they ring a chord. Many who haven't voted for years or even before will vote for Obama. Of course Obama's "change" is minimal even if we accept his rhetoric. The change needed is the overthrow of capitalism. Obama supports the system.
Revolutionaries believe in drawing class lines. We would consider a workers candidate even if we were not satisfied with his or her programme. But there is no way that we would consider a vote for Obama. He stands for gross class collaboration. He stands for the reactionary Democratic Party. He supports the imperialist war drive against Iran and comforts Israel against this "threat". An Obama will administer the system, business as usual. It�s time to build a revolutionary alternative.