The time for America to once again choose its President is fast approaching us, and one of those individuals vying for the job is Barack Obama. This charismatic senator from Illinois has led a grass roots movement for change that has catapulted him to the spotlight along with his main opponents for the democratic ticket, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards.

Over the course of a year, Obama has gained major support from the American people. His message of change and hope for a better, more unified America has transcended color, age, and political lines. With his recent preliminary win in Iowa, his close second in Michigan, and a controversial finish in Nevada, it would seem that Obama has done what many of his opponents said he couldn’t do. This makes a considerable impact on the 2008 presidential race.

However, with all his momentum and support, there is one major issue that Obama has to face that none of his opponents have to.

A lot of people have given out the Bradley Effect when a voter says they’ll vote for a non-white candidate only to turn around and vote for the white candidate.

While the Bradley Effect may play a role in Obamas’ presidential run, I believe there is a greater problem on the horizon; being the divided African American stance on whether to vote for someone history tells us won’t win.

Most political correspondents who report on Obamas’ growing base of support always seem to be in shock that every black person in America isn’t clamoring behind Obama, and while that in itself speaks of how little these so called “political experts” know about the voting and racial climate in America.

The truth is that while many African Americans believe that Barack Obama is the right man for the job many of those same people feel like he doesn’t have a real chance of winning.

Whether it be a lack of trust in the Electoral College, or a lack of trust in America itself, many African American voters feel that if they put their vote on Obama something would ultimately happen and he wouldn’t win.

For example, many remember Jesse Jackson’s 1988 run for the democratic ticket. The polls taken during that time showed that many white voters supported him; that is until the primaries started and the same voters who pledged to vote for him dealt him a crushing blow and voted for the opposition. That opposition came in the form of Michael Dukakis; Jackson’s very white opponent.

It was a hard pill to swallow for many who put their faith in Jackson, and many see the same potential pattern happening with Obama.

Thus, many voters turn to the next best thing; someone they know has a better chance of winning with their vote even if that candidate doesn’t necessarily match their political beliefs.

Now of course this doesn’t apply to all African Americans. Some, including me, believe that Obama has the real support to win the democratic ticket. Many remember the glory days, scratch the whole Lewinsky fiasco, of Bill Clintons’ administration. These individuals put their trust in Hillary to bring back some of those ideals; things like a better health care plan and a cut on taxes. There’s also those who can identify with Edwards’ upbringing as part of a working class family and his average man image; a trait some experts say he shares with Obama.

Then there are the African Americans who are simply Republicans who have a completely different set of candidates to think of. These voters are harder to convince based on different issues.

You combine the pressure of having to convince a voter to change their candidate and potentially their party. This daunting task is accentuated by past years of broken promises, shattered hopes, and forgotten policies. These are the obstancles Barack Obama faces.

This is a reality that I’m sure the Obama camp has realized since day one of their campaign. There have already been allegations that while he’s one of the best candidates for the presidential nomination, Obama lacks the overall “blackness” to win the minority vote. Again, this speaks a lot about the state of America, but its true nonetheless.

As for now, it looks like Obama has managed to shed the problem. His approval rating amongst African Americans has been on the rise since his strong second place showing in New Hampshire and Nevada. Many analysts categorize Obama as a strong candidate.

Only time will tell if Obama can deliver the “change” America so desperately needs, but its up to all Americans to accept and embrace that change.