Obama's Is Really Genuine

The news this week that Senator Barack Obama has been given Secret Service protection is yet another indication that his bid for the White House is as mainstream as any other serious campaign in the history of the US. The Department of Homeland Security secretary, Mr. Michael Chertoff who authorized the Secret Service protection for the junior senator from the State of Illinois, a spokesperson for the Secret Service itself, and even the Senator’s campaign aides have all denied that the decision to extend Secret Service protection to him this early in the campaign was not prompted by any specific threats. The observation made in an interview yesterday by the Senator’s wife, Michelle Obama to the effect that “we are moving to the next level” of the campaign which entails “unusually large crowds and attention” is clearly an allusion that underscores the weight of the Obama White House bid.

From the very outset, beginning with his formal announcement in February, Obama’s bid has consistently continued to generate considerable support and attention that cut across America’s racial and economic divides. The announcement last month by his campaign that he brought in more than 24 million dollars in the first quarter of this year is yet the other clear indication of the continuing reception of his bid in America’s mainstream. It is not just that the amount of money that he raised was clearly close to the 25 million dollars raised by the other Democratic contender, Senator Hillary Clinton, also, the spread of Obama’s donors indicates that his support is more extensive and more mainstream than Mrs. Clinton’s. His senior colleague, Senator Dick Durban of Illinois, may have triggered the protection that he received when he expressed the concern to the Senate leadership that the large crowds that Mr. Obama is drawing on his campaign trails are sufficient grounds to extend protection to him. “I love this guy”, he is quoted to have said, “and I never want to see anything happen to him”, he told the Chicago Tribune.

There is hardly any doubt at all at this stage in the current run for the US White House that Mr. Obama’s campaign is indeed real.