What does it mean to the black community to have a major black candidate for president?
It means quite a bit, not only for the black community, but also for young people to see that someone from the African American community. We teach kids in civics that any young kid can grow up to become president and it makes them believe that there’s some hope that actually can happen. Will Obama inspire more blacks to vote in Louisiana? I think there will be a larger voter turnout. Having an African American running for president and woman run for vice president makes the election more exciting. The issues are basically the same in every election—the economy, the security—it’s the personality and the candidates that drive voters. That’s what happened in 1960 with John Kennedy and in 1992 with Bill Clinton. How important is this election? … One of the things said in every election is ‘this is the most important election of our lifetime.’ I’ve been following presidential elections since 1952, and I don’t think yet that has been an exaggeration. It appears the conditions of the nation
