Barack Obama, the frontrunner in the Democratic Party presidential nomination contest, is classified as a black American.

Which makes me wonder – his mother is white and his father is black. Why is he called black and not white? He is equal parts black and white, right?

There must be millions of others similarly blessed like him. How come they are automatically classified as blacks or the more "polite" term colored? Is it because of the apparent racist nature of the large majority of whites, not only in America but also in other parts of the globe?

***

Obama’s speech on the racial divide in America was a masterpiece. It should be a must read by all not only in the US but also throughout the civilized world. In my view, it ranks among the best orations in history, including that of Martin Luther King’s "I Have a Dream."

In his speech, Obama said that one of the tasks he set forth at the beginning of his campaign was "to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America."

He continued:

"I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together – unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction– towards a better future for our children and our grandchildren.

"This belief comes from my unyielding faith in the decency and generosity of the American people. But it also comes from my own American story.

"I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton’s Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I’ve gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world’s poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slave owners – an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on earth is my story even possible.

"It’s a story that hasn’t made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts– that out of many, we are truly one."

The American people would do well to pay heed to this man who seems destined to be one of the greatest leaders of our time.

***

A couple of years ago, I said the 21st century was beginning to look more and more like the women’s century with the emergence of many women leaders in all of the world’s continents.

Among the more prominent and duly elected/appointed ones at the beginning of the century are: Prime Minister Helen Clark of New Zealand; President Pratibha Devisingh Patil of India; President Megawati Sukarnoputri of Indonesia; Prime Minister Mame Madior Boye of Senegal; Prime Minister Luisa Diogo of Mozambique; President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia; Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany; President Micheline Calmy-Rey of Switzerland; President Vaira Vike-Freiberga of Latvia; President Tarja Halonen of Finland; Prime Minister Beatriz Merino of Peru; President Mireya Moscoso of Panama; President Michelle Bachelet of Chile; and President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner of Argentina.

Thus was I emboldened to predict that Hillary Rodham-Clinton will be the next US president. As things stand, however, I’m beginning to think I could be wrong. Hillary has lost her frontrunner position to Barack Obama who has been gaining more ground lately.

Should Obama win the Democratic presidential nomination, it will be a race against John McCain, the Republican nominee-in-waiting. If and when that happens, the racial divide in America will become even more pronounced. And with two-thirds of American voters comprised of whites, the results may be a foregone conclusion.

Then again, miracles do happen and the US may have its first president of mixed race which I think will be good for the US and the world at large where racial, ethnic and religious divisions have become so wide under George W. Bush’s watch.

What is most worrisome though is the growing fear among his supporters that Obama may have already made himself a prime target for assassination by extremists in American society. We can only hope and pray that no such dastardly act ever takes place.

***

In a speech last week marking the fifth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq, President George W. Bush once again insisted that the invasion was justified despite the absence of United Nations Security Council authority and the "high cost in lives and treasure."

What will it take to convince the man that what he and his cabal did was bad for the world, bad for Iraq and above all, bad for the US?

Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, including innocent men, women and children have been killed and millions displaced. Nearly 4,000 American soldiers have died. The cost so far to the American taxpayers is about $500 billion and will increase further by the time the US withdraws from Iraq.

But what may prove to be more costly to the US and the world in general is the recession that has now visited the American economy that many knowledgeable economists directly link to Bush’s Iraqi adventure.

The majority of Americans now believe that the war wasn’t worth all the lives lost and dollars spent. Yet, Bush still says it is.

That is why I think the reason Obama may become the next US President is because he has been unequivocal about his objection to the war from the very start. He has correctly gauged the pulse of the American people, the majority of whom now want the US to withdraw from Iraq.

***

As a father myself, I can well imagine how Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim must feel.

His decision not to lift a finger and to let the law take its course in the case of his son who has been arrested for drug pushing must be a very painful one. But admirable.

Here is a man to whom I take my hat off. A man of honor, conviction and principle. A man who is willing to sacrifice his feelings as a father to uphold the law.

He is a public servant who should be emulated by all in government, especially those at the top.

I salute you, Your Honor, and may God bless you.

***

I would like to echo Senate President Manny Villar’s call for the immediate inspection of the books of the big oil companies. It’s time they are made to account for the seemingly unwarranted increases in oil prices that have resulted in more hardship and misery to the majority of our people.

***

Today is the 333rd day of Jonas Burgos’ disappearance.

Below is part of a letter Jonas’ mother, Edita, wrote Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada, the star witness in the scandalous ZTE-NBN deal that Ms. Gloria Arroyo approved and that she witnessed being signed in Boao, China early last year:

"I couldn’t help the tears as I watched you admit to being afraid that you would be another ‘Dacer’ when the car you were in sped towards Laguna. I wondered what Jonas’ thoughts were as they took him away. Was his head covered with a hood? Were his arms and feet bound? Were his cries muffled behind the tape placed over his mouth? Did he lay cramped on the floor of the van? Did they start hurting him while in the car even as he writhed to avoid the blows?

"I said a short prayer of thanks to the Lord for sparing you any kind of physical harm and for allowing you to be back with your family. I tell you, the pain someone must bear, not knowing where her loved one has disappeared to, is unimaginable. I praise God for sparing your family this pain."

How I wish Ms. Arroyo would read this.