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Many polls, analysts, professors, and media outlets have attempted to come up with an answer to this question ever since Barack Obama appeared to be a serious candidate for the Democratic nomination for president. Since then, Obama has won the nomination in a long and hard-fought battle against Hilary Clinton and then went on to win a crucial battle against John McCain, his Republican opponent. It is no secret that race has played and will continue to play a role in American politics. However, most polls showed the country was ready to elect its first black president. It happened and race did not play a role than expected on election day. Or did it?

It is my opinion that voters looked past Barack Obama’s skin color when they will made their decision. I am no expert on racial relations or even racial history within the US but am prepared to say that we have reached a time in history where regular individuals have come to look at one another as more than just blacks, whites, or whatever color someone’s skin is. While racism still exists in many places and will truly never be erased from the unconscious mind of many people, its influence in decision making has been dramatically decreased as tolerance and acceptance have become social norms. With increased immigration, international interdependency, and the influence of media in the lives of regular individuals, there has been a shift in attitudes towards racism within the last decade. As people learn more about their differences and interact with a variety of individuals from different races, cultures, and beliefs, they learn to accept rather than reject, care rather than ignore, and understand rather than patronize.

While Obama does represent a liberal party with a social progressive history, his attraction of young voters has been particularly representative of a forward movement away from racial politics. Young voters, brought up in a society where multiculturalism is a way of life, are much fonder of Obama and seem to appreciate his candidacy for its historic accomplishments. McCain lead by a large margin in older demographics where race also shows up as a larger factor. It is a safe assumption that the generation gap highlights not only differences in political opinion, but a considerable different in mentality towards race and the influence that plays when judging the two candidates.

Obama has been more than just a black candidate, he has been an American candidate who has deliberately shunned the race card and purposely decided to be a candidate of the nation, the entire nation. He wants to be the president of America, not black America, and he has made that amply clear by guaranteeing his decision making in the future will not be influenced by race or origin. He has created an image that commands respect while turning his status from a relatively unknown senator to a world-wide influential politician. He comes from humble origins and his accomplishments are due to his work ethic, dedication, and belief that a black man can transcend racial divides and live the American dream. He was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review and now is poised to become the first black president of the nation.

Skeptics still believe many voters will feared voting for Obama when in the voting booth. They hoped they would be swayed to vote for the white candidate even though they may disagree with him. It is that fear that we must fight against and eliminate because people need to be judged based on their character, opinions, ideology, and ideas as opposed to racial origins. Racism still exists and is nowhere close to extinction by any means. Frankly, I don’t know if racism can ever be truly eliminated from the social subconscious but it must be suppressed deep enough to not influence the judgment and treatment of individuals. Regardless of the results on November 4th, Obama’s candidacy has been the most important historic milestone towards the improvement of racial relations since Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech. He has crossed the racial divide and shown us it is not that wide. It is up to us to follow in his footsteps and join him on the other side.

The original article has been edited after the election to account for Obama’s victory. Only references to dates and any implied mentions that the election had not yet occurred have been omitted.