Obama is not typical black candidate.

• Position: Politics - Barack Obama

Although Sen. Barack Obama (D.-Ill.) is different from previous African-American presidential candidates, it still is unclear if most voters are ready to elect a black president, contend two political scientists from Duke University, Durham, N.C.

Obama represents the latest iteration of "new black politicians," contends Kerry Haynie, associate professor of political science. "Unlike his most recent predecessors, Revs. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, Obama does not have roots in the civil rights movement; he does not rely on the black church as his base of support; and he sees himself more as a problem-solver than an agitator or an activist. He is attempting to transcend race and party identification.

"His most important strengths are his charisma, his innocence, and what appears to be an ability to bridge racial and partisan divides," explains Haynie. "His lack of national and international political experience and his untested ability to raise large sums of campaign cash are his most important weaknesses."

Obama currently has "rock star" status within the Democratic Party, notes Paula McClain, professor of political science and public policy. Unlike black presidential candidates Shirley Chisholm in 1972 and Jesse Jackson in 1984 and 1988, Obama "is running as in insider to the Democratic Party. Chisholm's candidacy was clearly not welcomed within the mainstream of the Party and Jackson's bid resulted from frustrations with the party's [inattention] to issues of concern to black Americans...