As I sat watching the Montana and South Dakota primaries on Tuesday night, I have to admit that it was an emotional moment for me. When it was announced that Obama had reached the magic delegate number and that he was the presumptive Democratic nominee, it was as if this newfound sense of hope had washed over me. At that moment, I felt that anything is possible. Being a black person myself, I can attest to feeling the brunt of racism in this country. As far as we have come, this is still a racist country. We have always had white people running this country, and I have often wondered, “When will we be good enough? When will black people be considered worthy enough to grace the halls of the White House?”

Though Obama has not yet won the general election, the fact that he is the nominee is a huge step. We are watching history in the making because never before has there even been a black nominee from a major political party. The fact that he has made it this far signals to me that, even in light of the racism in this country, we have progressed. I truly believe that if Martin and Coretta were here, they would weep. Over 50 years after the official beginning of the Civil Rights Movement, we have a black person who actually has a chance of becoming the president of the United States of America.

I just want to congratulate Senator Obama on, not only the nominee win, but also his latest win in Montana. I commend his efforts and his courage. He truly does not know just how much he has affected people all over the nation, particularly me. My only prayer is that he keeps moving forward. In the words of that old Negro spiritual, I feel it appropriate to say: “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

I mean, she's hiding behind him now, but I'm a female. We don't just forget stuff like that. Bill is a fool if he thinks that Hilary is completely over that. I think that she is just biding her time and waiting until she gets to where she wants to be, and she is going to make him suffer like a dog. Just wait and see.

Now, let's get down to reality. Hillary probably should've used a better choice of words when she made that statement, and it is a statement that can be easily distorted. However, I do not think that she intended to diminish King's legacy, as many are now saying. I think what she was trying to say was that the American government did not fully acknowledge King's dream until the signing of the Civil Rights Act. Prior to that time, the American government looked down on King and anything that he wanted because in the mind of the government, blacks did not deserve equal treatment. With the signing of the Civil Rights Act, the American government had no choice but to acknowledge that we are all equal, whether or not they wanted to, because it became the law.

The fact of the matter is this: King was excellent at what he did. He fought for equality, he dedicated his life to serving the people and in the end, he died for what he believed in. In spite of his greatness, King was not the president. No matter how much marching he did, no matter how many speeches he gave, and no matter how many times he was jailed, he still did not have the power to pass a law.So in essence, he did need the president to do the job. Many people like to believe that King did everything on his own, but he did not. Don't get me wrong; he was a great man. But as a fellow black person struggling in a nation that does not want me, I know that it takes cooperation from the other party as well to bring about change.

On the flip side, had it not been for King's headstrong demonstrations, Johnson probably would not have signed the Civil Rights Act. So really, they needed each other to get the job done. So back off of Hillary. I mean, I love Obama, but don't just distort someone's words just to get ahead. That's wrong. I understand it's politics, but don't let politics get in the way of good judgment.

I have noticed with various conversation held between myself and different people that many are trying to decide between Clinton and Obama based on whether they think a woman should be president, or whether they think a black man should be president. I must say to all of those who plan to vote that we should not vote based on what they look like. Case in point, many Americans felt that a white man should be president, so they elected George W. Bush, and look where that got us. We are not crumbling under the hands of a senseless buffoon who does not have the sense God gave cheese. Had we paid more attention to his politics, there is a huge possibility that he would not be in the white house today.

I use George W. Bush as an example to say that we need to pay attention. The reality is that whoever we elect will have control over this country for at least the next four years. Whoever we elect will have control over our taxes, our health care, the state of our homeland and national security, and so much more. We need to pay attention to what these people are saying, so as to avoid a possible grave mistake.