People fear Obama Assassination; It's Time to Pray

evelation by Federal authorities in Tennessee, USA last Monday that they had arrested two white supremacists who were allegedly planning a killing spree that would end with the assassination of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, ought to have sent shock waves around the world.

Interestingly though, the arrest of Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tennessee and Paul Schlesselman, 18, of West Helena, Arkansas didn't lift too many eyebrows. If the killers that be could kill John Fitzgerald (J.F.) Kennedy, who remains arguably one of the most loved American presidents besides the likes of Abraham Lincoln (16th President, 1861-1865), they should have no qualms trying out their luck on the son of a Kenyan immigrant who is trying and is on the verge of becoming US President.

Little wonder that Secret Service agents began protecting Obama on May 3, 2007, less than three months after he announced he was running for the Democratic nomination-- the earliest that such protection has been authorised for a candidate in US history. As we speak, he is also easily the most protected candidate there has ever been in US history.

When the race began, with the primaries, personally I made up my mind that it would be perfectly okay if Obama or Hillary Clinton became President. Being a black man, Obama's victory would signal a victory of the US over the racial divide that has haunted it for a long time, since the days of the slave trade. My support for Obama was not just blind support. The man is good! His charisma, charm and oratorical skills cut him out as a cross between Martin Luther King Jr, the great black American who championed the black peoples' cause in the US and Kennedy, the 35th US President (1961-1963).

If Hillary won, it would be a victory not necessarily for women, but for gender equality. It would be a vote of confidence in the women; evidence that they too can do anything including running the world. My wish had been that Hillary would pick Obama as her running mate and subsequent Vice President. I had hoped also that she would serve five years and then make way for Obama to take over as President. But since Obama carried the primaries, I threw my vote behind him. The kindness he exudes, the sincerity with which he speaks, the leadership qualities he has demonstrated and the symbolism his victory would carry cut him out as the man for the White House.

His clean lead in the opinion polls suggests he will win, but one wonders whether at the critical moment of decision, some of the white folks, just about to cast their ballot, won't develop cold feet and opt for one of their own. The moment of decision carries its own pressures which make even the penultimately loyal voter change his or her mind at the very last.

There is one other disturbing similarity between Martin Luther King and J.F. Kennedy; both were assassinated. King on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee on a second floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel and Kennedy five years earlier, on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas.

If Obama is assassinated, it could plunge the US and indeed the whole world into chaos the kind that will make riots that followed the Martin Luther King assassination look like a tea party. Ultimately of course, Obama's security will depend on the Lord (I am a very spiritual person). Like David the Psalmist said, unless the Lord keepeth a city, those that keep it are wasting their time. Spiritual power will be as important as the guns guarding Obama.

The billions who believe in peace, equality and goodwill among people should uphold Obama and America in prayer until their knees are sore that this heinous intent is not actualised.