If Jamaicans have their way, Democratic Party candidate, Barack Obama will be the United States president after November 4, according to an online Observer poll.

An overwhelming 94.3 per cent of Jamaicans said they preferred Illinois senator Obama over the Republican party candidate, Senator John McCain to be the US president.

McCain, the senator from Arizona, polled a mere 5.7 per cent of Jamaicans asked "Who would most Jamaicans prefer to win the US presidential election?"

A total of 5,526 people responded to the poll between October 15 and 21, 2008.

Most US polls show Obama enjoying a solid lead over McCain nationally, with the very credible Gallup Daily Tracking Report having Obama at 52 per cent to McCain's 42 per cent among likely voters.

And Jamaicans are among those raising funds for the Obama campaign which raked in a record-breaking US$150 million in the month of September alone.

Among them is Ephraim Martin, a former news photographer from St Thomas who now resides in Chicago, Illinois, Obama's home state. Martin now stages the annual International Reggae and World Music Awards and says he was among those who encouraged the senator to run for president.

"When Obama was considering his run for the Senate on the popular Straight Talk TV programme, Star Planet TV in Chicago, I called on Obama to run without hesitation." Martin said.

"In 2005, after Obama's private meeting with billionaire Warren Buffett, at a time when the world was going on about Obama, and when Obama was considering running for presidency, I again urged him to enter the race and run as this opportunity would never come again," Martin said, pointing to the example of Jamaican-American Colin Powell eight years ago.

Martin added that Straight Talk TV was watched by the Obama camp and other politicians in Chicago.

(See editorial)

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