Outside the old state Capitol in Springfield, Ill., where Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous “a house divided against itself cannot stand” speech against slavery in 1858, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) officially entered the 2008 presidential race with a vow to take the country back and change the fundamental nature of our politics.

The 45-year-old has been dubbed the Democratic Party’s rising star and has certainly enjoyed star status during his travels, even before he officially announced his candidacy in the 2008 election.

Still, critics believe his lack of experience - he’s been in the U.S. Senate a whole two years - will keep him from becoming the nation’s first black president.

Obama shrugged off questions about his experience and resisted efforts to define his candidacy by race, saying fresh perspective is needed to break through gridlock on issues like health care, energy policy and of course, the Iraq war.

Asked on 60 Minutes Sunday if his color would hinder his chances, Barack Obama said, “No. If I don’t win this race it will be because of other factors - that I have not shown to the American people a vision for where the country needs to go.”

Some 10,000 attendees at the “State of the Black Union” conference last weekend at Virginia’s Hampton University greeted Obama’s presidential announcement with mixed reactions.

The subject came up several times during the annual two-day symposium, which examines progress the African-American community has made in this country and the problems that continue to exist.

“I think the identity politics should not be based on race,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton, a 2004 presidential candidate. “It should be based on agenda and policy - who stands for our best interests. We cannot put our people’s aspirations on hold for anybody’s career, black or white.”

Some blacks wonder if Obama’s mixed-race heritage hampers his effectiveness on African-American issues. Others complain he didn’t earn his political stripes in the 1960s civil rights movement. Others wonder about his Ivy League education and upscale Chicago address.

In fact, a CBS News poll last month showed Hillary Rodham Clinton ahead of Obama among African-American voters, 52 percent to 28 percent.

Without naming Obama, Sharpton added that “just because you’re our color doesn’t make you our kind.” He pointed to President George W. Bush’s two secretaries of state, Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell, as examples of African-Americans who haven’t necessarily worked in the interest of the African-American community.

Sharpton also said Obama should’ve declared his presidential run before the predominantly African-American audience at the Hampton conference, rather than in the state he represents on Capitol Hill. Sharpton said Obama needs to declare “what’s his embrace of our agenda.”