At a recent meeting of activists in New York, Rev. Jesse Jackson, the first black candidate to run for president, declined to endorse Obama, saying "our focus now is not on who’s running, because there are a number of allies running.”

Rev. Al Sharpton, who ran in the 2004 Democratic primaries, said he was considering another presidential run in 2008 and observed about Obama: "Right now we’re hearing a lot of media razzle-dazzle. I’m not hearing a lot of meat, or a lot of content. I think when the meat hits the fire, we’ll find out if it’s just fat, or if there’s some real meat there.”

And singer and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte said America needed to be "careful” about Obama, the Sunday Times in London reported.

"We don’t know what he’s truly about,” Belafonte said. "He’s a young man in many ways to be admired. Obviously very bright, speaks very well, cuts a handsome figure. But all of that is just the king’s clothes. Who’s the king?”

Add all of this up to... "We don't wanna get behind him too early - just in case Hillary comes out on top and we don't wanna come up short."

Obama is expected to formally announce his intentions this week.

What may also be bothering the old guard Jesse, Al, and Harrys is that evidently the black community doesn't really need them to tell them whether or not they should like Obama or not.

As Obama spoke at two Martin Luther King Jr. events today, what he had to say was warmly received. The Chicago Tribune noted the enthusiasm:

Obama received a standing ovation at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition's annual King scholarship breakfast when the Rev. Jesse Jackson introduced him with an approving reference to the Illinois Democrat's presidential aspirations.

"It's a long, nonstop line between the march in Selma in 1965 and the inauguration in Washington in 2009," said Jackson, the coalition's founder and a one-time presidential candidate himself.

Obama said thinking of the slain civil rights leader's life was humbling, and added: "I've gotten a little attention lately, but the fact of the matter is all I do is stand on the shoulders of others."

He noted that King was six years younger than he is now when he was assassinated in 1968 at age 39.

"Whatever challenges we face are nothing like the challenges our parents and grandparents faced," Obama said. "The torch has been passed to this generation, but we haven't always taken it up. We haven't pushed the boundaries of what is possible. We have much more work to do."

The crowd enthusiastically applauded and cheered his remarks.

Here's why I believe Obama will be president in 2009...