January 6, 2008 | 12:00am
History was made this week. First, and for the first time in US history, a black presidential candidate is in the offing after Barack Obama won the Iowa caucuses, the first of several in determining the presidential candidates of both Democrat and Republican political parties. He bested New York Senator and former First Lady Hillary Clinton by a considerable margin. Although not final nor definitive, it shows that an African-American presidential candidate is no longer a dream. And he achieved the victory in a predominantly white populated state. This really puts Senator Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid in trouble, to say the least. History would have been made either way if she won the Iowa caucus, making her the first woman presidential candidate.
This victory of Obama is significant any way you look at it. The US has long suffered an indelible shiner on its historical face, from all the black-white racial troubles of the past. Even today, it has not totally eradicated it. It may not be outright in-your-face discrimination as characterized during the 50s and 60s, but it’s there. Barack Obama’s initial victory may be the first step in removing that shiner once and for all. On the other side of the fence, a come from behind victory characterizes Mike Huckabee’s presidential bid for the Republican Party, besting Mitt Romney and John McCain. But the focus is really on the Democratic side. It will be an interesting week to come as the caucuses continue.
Second, oil hits the very psychological barrier of one hundred dollars per barrel! Another situation unheard of only a decade earlier. World reaction was swift, from street protest to doomsday predictions. Here, President Arroyo calls for an energy summit to address this very issue, if that will do anything to lower prices at all. I wonder how it feels to own an oil corporation nowadays? How it feels to have the whole world by the throat, squeezing it little by little. We really have to exhaust every possible means to free ourselves from total dependence on oil for energy. Conspiracy theorists have always screamed that economical electric and hydrogen fuel cell cars have been around for years, with the oil companies merely suppressing them. It may be time for this urban legend to be investigated. How long can we so dependent on a commodity supplied by so few? The price has since eased off, but the fact is, it is no longer an unheard of price. And so we brace ourselves, as history unfolds, and how it will eventually affect us all.
