Where is Obama's place in black history?

I find myself a little perplexed when thinking of the now President elect Barrack Obama. He is no MLK or Malcolm X or Huey P yet in a matter of a few years he has trumped them all. He was not a proponent of the movement but a benefactor (like myself). It is not a question of him not being black enough but black period. Politician do and say anything to get elected and when they do they soon forget the people who put them there. I am not saying he owes us something - truth be told white people put him in office not black. Does winning the election trumph all the civil rights leaders from the past? Or is he just another first.