Point Blank is a Black Commentary and Opinion by Chris Stevenson

A black man just won a caucus in Iowa. Not the Motown Caucus, not the Harlem Caucus, not the Lower Ninth Ward Caucus, I’m talking The Iowa Caucus! Yeah right. Next you’ll be telling me that Oprah Winfrey is endorsing him, next you’ll be telling me Hillary came in 3rd. Oddly enough Clinton is supposed to be a done deal by now and almost a year after she formed that exploratory committee (1/20/07) it seems that she may be done for. Confiscating Senator Barack Obama’s grade school essays and having former NBA star and current mega-business mogul Magic Johnson wasn’t enough to tip the scales for her in what could be the most pivotal part of the campaign season. If she doesn’t win Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, should she pack it in?

The problem with Hil is that she looked like such an icon before she officially decided to enter this race. It seemed that voters who grew more tired of the war-mongering, budget-bursting antics of outwardly straight white males in black wing-tipped shoes. But as time goes on it seems Hillary’s pumps are looking more and more like wingtips themselves. Perhaps this is most noticeable when she is compared to her chief democratic rival for control of the Oval Office; Barack Obama.

What is making potential voters have 2nd thoughts about Mrs. Clinton is her current stance on Iran. Most rational people don’t want another war started on lies and slander as was the case with the US occupation of Iraq. From the beginning Clinton has shown some closet war-hawk tendencies and now she is at the point of no longer hiding it. Back in 10/02 Hillary voted in favor of the Iraq War Resolution which authorized Bush the use of military force against them. This past September she pushed for a resolution declaring Iran’s Revolutionary Guard a terrorist group. That accusation gave Bush the validation he needed to begin a move against Iran; that is until the early December Intelligence report that the Iranians stopped making nuclear weapons 4 years ago. Whatever the secret treaty is between the Clintons and Bushes, America simply can’t afford it at this point.

I know what you’re thinking. With those facts under consideration how do you, a level—headed voter, support a viable black candidate like Obama? I’m glad you asked. As Obama said Sunday on “Meet the Press,” let’s check under the hood and kick the tires. During that same October of ’02 while Hil was pushing for war, Obama delivered a speech on the 26th that should never be forgotten. On Iraq he stated: “I stand before you as someone who is not opposed to war in all circumstances… What I am opposed to is a dumb war, what I am opposed to is a rash war; a war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics.” The IL Senator took 38% of the Iowa vote, followed by Edwards with 29.8% and Clinton at 29.5%. For now Obama seems like an appealing alternative to confrontational politics, he is not an insider in these old-boys clubs. He is best suited to open more dialogue with foreign leaders and get better results with less bloodshed.