Black leaders not yet sold on Obama

As a rookie on the national stage, Obama does not have an established nationwide network of fundraising and personal connections. And whereas the traditional black leaders in Democratic Party politics are identified by their connections to the old civil rights struggles of the South and of Northern cities, Obama was raised by a white mother in Hawaii and Indonesia. His ties to the black church and to the urban struggles of many blacks were solidified only when he moved to Chicago after college.

A spokesman for Obama said Thursday that the senator's voter-outreach effort was just beginning. Still, there are signs that he has embarked on a quiet campaign to woo influential black leaders.

He placed a call this week to Rep. James E. Clyburn, the third-ranking Democrat in the House and one of the most powerful black politicians in South Carolina. Obama also addressed a breakfast in Chicago honoring the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., hosted by Jackson. Appearing at a black church in a poor suburb of Chicago, he offered hints that he viewed his political rise as a natural extension of King's dream.

"The torch has been passed to this generation, but we haven't always taken it up," Obama said in an account on the WBBM CBS2 television station. "We haven't pushed the boundaries of what is possible. We have much more work to do."

Obama received standing ovations that day.

Jackson has stopped short of endorsing Obama, but he told CNN on Thursday that he probably would back him. "All of my heart leans toward Barack," he said. But he added that Obama would have to compete for the black vote. "I don't think it will be hostile, or nasty, but it will be a very competitive campaign."

While he is talking to the black voters and leaders, Obama is making sure his public image rests on a broad foundation. A new biographical video, released this week on Obama's website, features several images of him working with blacks as a civil rights lawyer and community activist. But equally prominent images show him speaking intently with white constituents. Two people offer testimonials of their admiration for the senator: a white woman and a man who appears to be Latino.

If nothing else, Clyburn said in an interview, Obama's candidacy would undercut the old "monolithic notion" that blacks will automatically vote for a black presidential candidate, or that whites will never do so.

"I'm surprised at the number of African Americans I talk to who are just very much for Edwards," Clyburn said. "I'm also surprised at the number of well-heeled, wealthy white South Carolinians who tell me they're for Obama."

Obama formed an exploratory committee Tuesday, a step toward formally entering the presidential race, and says that on Feb. 10 he will announce a final decision on whether to run. Few doubt he intends to mount a campaign.

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\o7peter.wallsten@latimes.com

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