Is America Ready For A Black President?

Illinois Senator Barack Obama is entering the final weeks of campaigning for the US presidency ahead in many national opinion polls and with a real chance of making history as the country's first black president.

Yet in October 2007, when Panorama reported on Mr Obama's campaign, he was actually trailing Senator Hillary Clinton in polls as they battled it out to secure the Democratic presidential nomination.

Here we look back at that film, Is America Ready For A Black President?

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Panorama caught up with Mr Obama on the campaign trail

Barack Obama's keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic convention marked him out as the party's rising star.

The buzz around Mr Obama continued as he announced his intention to run for his party's presidential nomination.

As his fundraising machine went into overdrive, his race to the White House had begun.

However, when Panorama caught up with Mr Obama on the campaign trail he was struggling to convey his message fully.

In a nation where race is still such a potent issue, Mr Obama was too concerned with not upsetting white America to guarantee the vote of the black population according to voices inside the black political movement.

Deeply mistrustful

Mr Obama told Panorama there was "no white America, no black America" but such claims caused problems.

Barack Obama profile

Veteran black rights campaigner, the Reverend Al Sharpton told Panorama that Mr Obama could not expect African Americans to support him because of his cautious stance on America's race issues.

Rev Sharpton saw Mr Obama's position as an attempt to appeal to white voters.

Yet much of white America was also deeply mistrustful.

Mrs Clinton was thought to be favoured by America's large white working classes - the blue collar vote.

Even so, Mr Obama certainly did have the backing of some important sections of the white electorate.

'White person's fantasy'

Panorama found strong support for Mr Obama among white people in the wealthy suburbs of Chicago.

The political psychologist Drew Westen backed this view when he told Panorama, Mr Obama is "every white person's fantasy of what they'd like a black man to be".

Clinton backed the Obama campaign after her defeat

"He's thoughtful, he's articulate, he's handsome, he doesn't fit any of the stereotypes of the dangerous dark-skinned black male that people see every day on television," Mr Westen said.

Despite such positive support, as Panorama reported in October 2007, most polls showed Mr Obama trailed Mrs Clinton.

However, as actual voting began in the Primary elections - which decide which candidate secures the party's nomination - there was a shift.

Mr Obama began to make win states and garner the votes required to win the Democratic nomination.

Though the popular vote between the two candidates remained close throughout the Primary election campaign, Mr Obama's momentum built and by 3 June 2008 he had secured enough delegates' support to become the Democrats presumptive nominee.

Mr Obama accepted his party's nomination as presidential candidate at the Democratic convention in Denver on 28 August and officially began his campaign to become president against the Republican candidate, Senator John McCain.

Panorama: Is America Ready For A Black President? was first broadcast on Monday 15 October 2007.