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Barack Obama is unique in the history of American Politics, not only for being the first African American nominee of a major political party for President of the United States when he is expected to be nominated in September, 2008.

Origins and identity

Race and culture

With his Kenyan father and white American mother, his upbringing in Honolulu and Jakarta, and his Ivy League education, Obama's early life experiences differ markedly from those of African American politicians who launched their careers in the 1960s through participation in the civil rights movement. In January 2007, The End of Blackness author Debra Dickerson warned against drawing favorable cultural implications from Obama's political rise: "Lumping us all together," Dickerson wrote in Salon, "erases the significance of slavery and continuing racism while giving the appearance of progress." Film critic David Ehrenstein, writing in a March 2007 Los Angeles Times article, compared the cultural sources of Obama's favorable polling among whites to those of "magical negro" roles played by black actors in Hollywood movies. Expressing puzzlement over questions about whether he is "black enough," Obama told an August 2007 meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists that the debate is not about his physical appearance or his record on issues of concern to black voters. Obama said, "we're still locked in this notion that if you appeal to white folks then there must be something wrong."

Religion

Although Obama is Christian, July 2008 polls have shown that some Americans believe incorrectly that he is Muslim or was raised Muslim (12% and 26%, respectively, in Pew and Newsweek polls). Cited the latter poll by CNN's Larry King, Obama responded, "...I wasn't raised in a Muslim home," and said that advancement of the misconception insulted Muslim Americans. James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute expressed in a news report (reacting in part to a satirical New Yorker cover) that ethnic caricature involving faulty depiction of Obama's faith harms Muslim Americans, impeding their "opportunity to participate in the political process."

Obama as politician

Youth and experience

In a December 2006 Wall Street Journal editorial headlined "The Man from Nowhere," Ronald Reagan speech writer Peggy Noonan advised "establishment" commentators to avoid becoming too quickly excited about Obama's still early political career. Echoing the inaugural address of John F. Kennedy, Obama acknowledged his youthful image, saying in an October 2007 campaign speech, "I wouldn't be here if, time and again, the torch had not been passed to a new generation."

Political savvy

A prominent part of Obama's political image is a belief that Obama's rhetoric and actions toward political reform are matched with a political savvy that often includes a measure of expediency. In a July 2008 The New Yorker feature article, for example, Ryan Lizza wrote, "(Obama) campaigns on reforming a broken political process, yet he has always played politics by the rules as they exist, not as he would like them to exist."

Conservative support

Although usually considered a liberal, Obama has been praised and endorsed by many Republicans and conservatives.

References

1. Wallace-Wells, Benjamin (November 2004). "The Great Black Hope: What's Riding on Barack Obama?". Washington Monthly. Retrieved 2008-04-07. See also: Scott, Janny (December 28, 2007). "A Member of a New Generation, Obama Walks a Fine Line". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
2. Dickerson, Debra J (January 22 2007). "Colorblind". Salon. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) For a sampling of views by other black commentators see: Younge, Gary (posted October 27 2006 (November 13 2006 issue)). "Obama: Black Like Me". The Nation. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Crouch, Stanley (November 2 2006). "What Obama Isn't: Black Like Me". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on 2007-03-08. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Washington, Laura (January 1 2007). "Whites May Embrace Obama, But Do 'Regular Black Folks'?". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Page, Clarence (February 25 2007). "Is Barack Black Enough? Now That's a Silly Question". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2007-03-08. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
3. Ehrenstein, David. "Obama the 'Magic Negro'", Los Angeles Times, March 19 2007. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
4. Payne, Les (August 19 2007). "In One Country, a Dual Audience" (paid archive). Newsday. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
5. Poll: Obama extends national lead over McCain, Associated Press (11 July 2008).
6. Jonathan Darman, Glow Fading?, Newsweek online exclusive (11 July 2008).
7. King, Larry (2008-07-15). "CNN Larry King Live: Interview with Sen. Barack Obama …". CNN. Retrieved 2008-07-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
8. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/politics/bal-te.magazine15jul15,0,4906395.story
9. Noonan, Peggy (December 15 2006). "The Man From Nowhere". OpinionJournal (Wall Street Journal). Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: Obama (2006), pp. 122–124. For Noonan's comments on Obama winning the January 2008 Iowa Caucus, see: Noonan, Peggy (January 4 2008). "Out With the Old, In With the New". OpinionJournal (Wall Street Journal). Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
10. Dorning, Mike (October 4 2007). "Obama Reaches Across Decades to JFK" (paid archive). Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: Harnden, Toby (October 15 2007). "Barack Obama is JFK Heir, Says Kennedy Aide". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
11. Making It: How Chicago shaped Obama
12. Conservatives should rethink their support of Obama Thomas Sowell, Deseret News July 10, 2008.

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