A recent New York Times article “Whose President is He Anyways?” noted how many ethnic and religious groups like to claim Obama as their own. Whether symbolically or literally, whether African-American, Hawaiian, Asian, Kenyan, Italian, Muslim, Jewish, you name it .. Is there a reason for such claims? Or is it simply that the American people are simply proud to have a president that reflects a mosaic of ethnic and racial ties?
Never before have the American people tried to classify a president into a racial or ethnic group as a justification to not only elect, but to trust the president. It seems the public wants minority representation, and by painting Obama as a minority, they get their wishes. They also want to box their president into a category so they can justify his actions. Obama seems to satisfy the desires for almost every racial, ethnic, political and other minority group.
As taken from the article:
“He reminds me of John Kennedy in this respect,” said Peter H. Wehner, a former Bush White House official now at the conservative Ethics and Public Policy Center. “If you read the books on Kennedy, intellectuals who spoke to Kennedy felt like he was an intellectual; politicians who spoke with him felt like he was a politician. He had the ability to make people think he was what they wanted and what they were looking for. I get the sense that Obama is a little like that and everyone is going to lay claim to him.”
Obama’s ability to “give the public what they are looking for” was flawless during the campaign and has so far panned out in his cabinet nominations which are moving at lightspeed pace. Whether he can satisfy every sector of the public who claims him as their own is another story though.
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Does it really surprise you that Obama is being claimed by so many minority groups? He is our first African American president, after all. I haven’t seen this much excitement about a President in my time following politics. I think it is a good thing for America that Obama represents so many groups, because God knows Bush wasn’t representing anyone besides the White rich people.
I think it is great that so many different groups are claiming ownership of Obama. We are a nation full of minorities that understands discrimination and can relate to the struggles of our new President. One important issue that you raised though is because Obama has so many supporters, will it be difficulty to please them all? A recent Politico article stated that Latinos are unhappy with Obama’s decision not to put Bill Richardson in the Secretary of State position.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15967.html
Has Obama made too many promises to too many groups? Hopefully they will allow some leeway as he faces many challenges come January 20th.
I myself feel that Obama is my President do to his ethnicity. I am a Mexican-American and a minority, and I feel that Obama represents those of us who are in the minority population do to our race. In addition, I also have even more personal reason why I feel that he is my president. I am currently dating a boy who I plan to one day marry and who is much like Barack Obama (black-biracial (half white), single mother, and former college basketball) and I believe that if one day God blesses us with children, that our children would able to relate to Barack Obama because he is biracial, and thus (to my future family) he would be “our president.” My potential children would be able to relate to his story just as my (potential future) hubby would.
Obama has embodied the American public’s desire for something new. However, this may definitely backfire if anything goes wrong. I can see crusty-old-white-conservatives attributing any problem that may come Obama’s way to the fact that he’s black. He’s got some serious damage control to do.
This WASP ain’t feelin’ the love!
But really, I don’t give a damn about race and I wish people would just stop caring about it. If equality is truly to come then people would stop even recognizing “race” because it wouldn’t be of any importance.
I agree with you Rachel. When we can stop recognizing all the little differences then we’ve truly surpassed discrimination.
One of the biggest struggles in marketing is appealing to everyone. Whether it be a product, a restaurant, a policy, or a politician, there are very few things that appeal to everyone. By attempting to appeal to everyone, often times you appeal to no one. That will Obama’s obstacle over the next 4 years. He won a berth to the White House by appealing to everyone this time around. However, with America facing huge obstacles, Obama will have to deliver or else the next 48 months will be unbearable from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. America’s largest celebrity will need to deliver results – getting out of Iraq and Afghanistan, bringing Americans universal healthcare, and mending our ailing economy – or he will get run out of Washington as quickly as he was crowned the Savior of the American People.
It is horrible that people still consider race an issue. America is about freedoms for ALL. I guess it takes times like these to work out our issues. Maybe Obama will put a knife in the issue once and for all..?