By Gina Smith, Alabama Public Radio
Birmingham, AL – The Illinois Senate race is the first U.S. Senate battle to have black candidates representing the two major parties. One of them, Barack Obama, says he believes focusing on racial and social differences causes problems.
One of the difficulties that I think our politics has suffered is a politics of division.
Obama was in Birmingham today for a fundraising event sponsored by Alabama politicians. The money is for Obama's U.S. Senate campaign. He says Americans just want to see positive effects of government in their everyday lives.
I think the majority of the American people are not an ideological people. They're a common sense people. And what they're looking for are common sense solutions to issues like unemployment, issues like healthcare, issues like making sure that college is affordable.
There are currently no blacks serving in the U.S. Senate.