Black President, Sure; Alabama Governor? We'll See

In the post-Obama political landscape, a young congressman is attempting a feat perhaps more difficult than putting a black man in the White House, writes Robbie Brown in the New York Times. That would be putting a black man in the Alabama governor’s mansion. “Yes, it will be hard,” said Artur Davis, a four-term congressman and a star of last year’s Democratic convention. “But God has blessed us through that which is hard before.”

A thin field of candidates could help Davis, 41, who officially launches his campaign on Saturday. Still, victory in a majority white, GOP state will be exceedingly difficult. “Can a black man be elected governor in Alabama?” one analyst asked. “The cynical folks say no.” Davis can depend on some influential friends, including the daughter of segregationist governor George C. Wallace. “Alabama is ready,” said Peggy Wallace Kennedy. “I just don’t know if Alabama knows it.” (More Election 2010 stories.)