Barack Obama was elected president a year ago this week, and that's still a cornerstone of comedian Sommore's act.

"I think it's been wonderful," she said in a telephone interview from a tour stop in Dallas. "He's given black people at least hope that we too can one day rise above our expectations.

"We'll just wait and see what happens."

The comedian said not much has changed in a year, but she wasn't expecting that it would.

"We didn't get there overnight, and it's not like it's going to change overnight," she said.

The 43-year-old New Jersey native - who toured with Mo'Nique, Laura Hayes and Adele Givens in "The Queens of Comedy Tour" - will perform Saturday night at the Col Ballroom in Davenport.

Sommore, the stage name of Lori Ann Rambough, is constantly on the road touring.

"Especially in a recession, people need to laugh," she said. "I think comedy is doing well right now."

Sommore said her perspective is different from that of many comedians.

"I try to think outside the box," she said. "Of course it doesn't all have to be true, so I can make up things, exaggerate things. It makes for great entertainment."

On her Web site, Sommore blasts those who think that female comedians aren't funny and that all they talk about in their acts is sex.

"Women can be funny no matter what we talk about," she said during her interview with the Quad-City Times. "I want to prove to them that that's not all true."

She released a concert DVD, "The Queen Stands Alone," last year and will be shooting another concert film in the next few months.

While other comedians have turned to acting or hosting game or talk shows, Sommore said she's happy to be doing standup.

"I've probably turned down more roles than most people would ever imagine," she said. "I'm only interested in acting if it's the right project, and I don't see too many things I'm interested in right now."

Sommore said her comedic heroes are Joan Rivers and Ellen DeGeneres, and she added that the form doesn't know a color barrier.

"Comedy doesn't matter what race you are," she said. "Funny is funny. It doesn't matter if you're black of white.

"It doesn't matter what your race is. I just happen to be black."