In his fight for Texas, Barack Obama has a sure-fire weapon that could bring down Hillary Rodham Clinton and ultimately win him the Democratic nomination for president.

Black voters in the state's urban centers give the Illinois senator a solid base from which to mount his Lone Star campaign.

In earlier primary contests, Obama rolled up 80 to 90 percent of the black vote, keeping him competitive in some areas and blowing Clinton away in others.

"What we do in the next couple of weeks will allow us to change the world," former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk told a mainly black group of voters in Fair Park last week.

At the very least, the black vote could change the presidential dynamic in Texas.

Most of the delegates at stake in the March 4 primary are from state Senate districts with significant numbers of African-Americans, including state Sen. Rodney Ellis' district in Houston and Royce West's district in Dallas. Those districts receive a lot of delegates because of a formula derived from Democratic turnout in the 2004 presidential election and 2006 governor's race.

If Obama is successful in turning out that vote, he could fight Clinton to a standstill in the Texas delegate count, or even win the state outright.

"That's the theory," Obama strategist David Axelrod said about winning the delegate rich urban areas. "We have to make it a fact. We have a lot of support and energy in Texas."

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston, national co-chairman of the Clinton campaign, acknowledged the historical implications of Obama's campaign have siphoned support from Clinton.

But she said the Clinton campaign would not write off the black vote.

Obama has moved veteran campaign operatives from other states like Iowa, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and California to help mobilize Texas. Many are concentrated in Dallas and Houston.

And while they won't say that they are simply targeting black voters, they acknowledged the importance of mining their urban base.

"We have some of our top field organizers and other staff on the ground," said Eureka Gilkey, Obama's deputy national political director. "That's not to say those areas are locked up. At the end of the day, it's about turnout."

Obama's strong support among black voters is a relatively new phenomenon.

Less than a year ago, Clinton actually polled better with African-Americans, particularly women.

There were nagging questions about whether Mr. Obama was black enough, or if he could actually win.

"A lot of African-American voters were just skeptical that I could win, so they didn't want to waste their vote," Obama said in a recent interview with The Dallas Morning News.

"When we won Iowa, something broke in people's heads where they said, `Oh, you know what? This could be real.' And that gave people excitement and energy and it has continued to build since that time."

Victories followed in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Virginia, Maryland and other places with large black populations.

Enter Texas, where the overall percentage of black residents is small (just under 12 percent), except in the large cities. Blacks make up more than 25 percent of the population of both Dallas and Houston.

"I want to make sure that we're not only getting that kind of support from the African-American community, I want to get it from every demographic," Obama said.

Black voters in Texas have been consumed with Obama mania for most of the political season.

About 18,000 people attended an Obama rally in Houston. A day later, 17,000 jammed into Reunion Arena in Dallas.

Surrogates have also descended to Houston and Dallas to help pull voters to the polls.

Popular Washington, D.C., Mayor Adrian Fenty was in Dallas on Saturday to campaign. Actor Samuel L. Jackson and others are also expected in the state.

Clinton has watched black voters abandon the wife of presidential extremely popular with blacks to support the Illinois senator, who would be the first African-American elected to the White House.

But she's still fighting.

On Saturday Clinton attended PBS talk show commentator Tavis Smiley's "State of Black America" conference in New Orleans. Obama did not attend.

In a speech directed at blacks, Clinton called for Democratic Party unity.

"The high stakes and historic nature of Barack's and my candidacy have imbued this campaign with an intensity seldom seen in this political arena," she said.

Clinton also has an organization and volunteers in Dallas, where she has the support of County Commissioner John Wiley Price.

Political scientists suggest that Clinton's goal is to win enough black votes to keep Obama from offsetting her advantages, particularly with Hispanic voters.

"We're not leaving any vote behind," Lee said.

With the excitement generated from the historic Democratic campaign for president, grass-roots workers have an easier time getting voters to the polls.

Earlier voting is up all over Texas, especially in Houston and Dallas.

"I'm just happy to be a part of this one," said 57-year-old Larry Gatson, a Houston retiree. "I'll walk to the polls, if I have to."

Source: MCT