| | Obama rejects skinhead threat
 Barack Obama said he was not worried about threats to his life as he vies to become the first black US president, saying that hate groups have been marginalized by his candidacy.
"I think what's been striking about this campaign is the degree to which these kind of hate groups have been marginalized. That's not who America is. That's not what our future is," Democrat Obama told Pennsylvania television station KDKA late Monday.
"What I've found is that people here, they don't care what color you are. What they're trying to figure out is who can deliver," he said.
Asked if he was concerned about his safety, Obama said no.
"I've got the best folks in the world -- the Secret Service," he said.
On Monday authorities announced the arrest of two white supremacists for threatening to assassinate Obama during a "killing spree" of some 100 African-Americans.
Daniel Cowart, 20, and Paul Schlesselman, 18, were arrested Wednesday in Tennessee for possession of firearms, threats against a candidate running for president and conspiring to rob a gun store, the Department of Justice said.
The men began "discussing going on a 'killing spree' that included killing 88 people and beheading 14 African-Americans," Brian Weaks, an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told a Memphis court Monday.
"They further stated that their final act of violence would be to attempt to kill/assassinate presidential candidate Barack Obama," he added, as the two men appeared before the federal court.
Cowart, from Bells, Tennessee, and Schlesselman, from Arkansas, met via the Internet a month ago and have "very strong beliefs and views regarding 'White Power' and 'skinhead' views," Weaks told the court.
The pair, who had stockpiled guns, planned to steal a high-powered rifle from a gun store in Jackson, Tennessee and finance their bloody plan through a series of robberies.
"Schlesselman stated that they planned to drive their vehicles as fast as they could toward Obama shooting at him from the windows," Weaks said.
"Both individuals stated they would dress in all-white tuxedos and wear top hats during the assassination attempt. Both individuals further stated they knew they would and were willing to die during this attempt."
Obama, who has made history by becoming the first black presidential nominee of a major political party, is under the protection of the US Secret Service -- which guards the president -- as a White House candidate. Their protection for him began much earlier in the campaign than any other presidential candidate.
In late August, the alarm was also raised when it was revealed three men were arrested with a weapons cache in Denver, Colorado where the Democratic party convention was being held. US attorneys later said there had been no credible threat against Obama.
This video is from BBC, broadcast October 28, 2008.
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