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To think that some people are surprised by Barack Obama's success is a bit shocking. As far as social conditions are concerned, the United States has long been heading toward this contemporary scenario of ethnicity surmounting our nation's dwindling political divide. Prior to the days of Martin Luther King, Jr, the sound of inevitability has been quietly humming in the White House halls behind the heavy footsteps of war-minded, Caucasian, male leaders.

Following more than half a century of hyper-escalating budgets for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), our national image has slowly degraded to fear and loathing in domestic and global perceptions. As such, perhaps it is only logical that a man, who proclaims real change in policy while bestowing racial change in candidacy, could have come this far in the ever-exclusive national contest for the presidency.

The fed up attitudes of young and old voters alike may well be the primary impetus for the acceptance of this radically different image in a candidate promising a diversion from "stay the course" politics. Like Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American to be appointed to the Supreme Court in 1967, Barack Obama is also in the right place at the right time.

Some of the more reassuring points for Obama come down to his voting record. It is this candidate's Senate activity that confirms his support for a troop withdrawal timetable and thereby indicates a potential end to the U.S. directed calamity in Iraq by May of 2010. With any luck at all resulting from his occupancy of the White House, we will also witness a change from reckless, unilateral sword waving, to multi-lateral diplomacy. Provided of course, Obama is able to continue attracting more voter attention than McCain.

In addition to consistently voting for troop withdrawal, Obama has habitually voted in favor of educational and health reforms, while having also supported grants for the development of alternative energy. As far as social progress goes, these are steps in a forward direction.

The most recent and relevant topic of discussion revolves around Obama's promise to shut down the internationally denounced military base of Guantanamo. Through his votes in the Senate, and approval for this past week's Gitmo ruling by the Supreme Court which upholds Habeas Corpus, Obama appears to be in touch with the obligation at this point in time to uphold human rights. Additionally, if he is the man he claims to be, we may finally see our nation integrate itself

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