Will African-Americans Support a "Halfrican-American"?

I've posted previously on stories that Sen. Barack Obama can't take support from the black community or black "leaders" for granted. The NY Times has another story which is also promoting the idea that African-Americans don't really consider Obama one of them, because as some have described him, he's a "Halfrican-American" with a mixed race background and no plantations in his heritage, if you know what I mean:

The black author and essayist Debra J. Dickerson recently declared that “Obama isn’t black” in an American racial context. Some polls suggest that Mr. Obama trails one of his rivals for the Democratic nomination, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, in the battle for African-American support.

And at the Shepherd Park Barber Shop here, where the hair clippers hummed and the television blared, Calvin Lanier summed up the simmering ambivalence. Mr. Lanier pointed to Mr. Obama’s heritage — he is the American-born son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas — and the fact that he did not embody the experiences of most African-Americans whose ancestors endured slavery, segregation and the bitter struggle for civil rights.

“When you think of a president, you think of an American,” said Mr. Lanier, a 58-year-old barber who is still considering whether to support Mr. Obama. “We’ve been taught that a president should come from right here, born, raised, bred, fed in America. To go outside and bring somebody in from another nationality, now that doesn’t feel right to some people.”

On Wednesday, the question of race took center stage in the presidential campaign because of remarks that Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., Democrat of Delaware, made about Mr. Obama. Mr. Biden characterized Mr. Obama as “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy” and then spent the day — his first as an official presidential candidate, explaining and apologizing for his remarks.

I tend to agree with Captain Ed that this is a story without a lot of foundation. It's way to early to know just how the black community will respond to Obama. If it comes down to Obama vs Hillary, for whom do you really think the black community is going to vote? Are they going to run to Hillary? Not hardly.

And Obama versus any Republican will not change the traditional 90% black support for Democrat presidential requirements, regardless of color. Are any of the "great white hopes" on the GOP side going to pry black votes away from Obama. Not likely.

It appears that there are a few black pundits and "leaders" who are simply jealous of Obama's meteoric rise to fame and are looking for excuses to proclaim him unworthy of the presidency. I think he's unworthy based on a lack of qualifications and experience, but given the personality cult that his supporters and the media are creating, I'm not sure experience and qualifications will matter.

By the way, actress Halle Berry, another "Halfrican-American", supports Obama.