Obama is just as much white as he is black. And I think there's some other races in there too. That's one of the two big things that make him, arguably, the most remarkable candidate to come along in decades.
One: His racially diverse ancestry, because of what that will mean to the rest of the world if he gets elected.
Two: His unique and extremely rare talent. I mean, there have been many other very intelligent candidates and a few with high level oratorial talent, but he has something else so unusual there may not be a name for it, or at least, I can't think of the name for it...

TeaSea, is right on the $$. Why is it that most of the whites only acknowledge Obama as being black? Am I wrong? Case in point. Look at the question that started this topic.

It's all very simple when a person doesn't live in denial and opens their eyes. White America has never allowed a person of mixed race to be called WHITE. It's a fact of life in this country. Again, look at the question.

Hey? I'm a Native American with some english in me but my darker heritage dominates my looks. U think I've ever been accepted as an equal to the Caucasian? Get real. Stop with the DENIAL. It's true for any mixed breed. Be true to yourselves.

What will it mean to the rest of the world? Would he do his job differantly than any other liberal democrat?

I can imagine a fleeting warm feeling for people who look somewhat like him, but I don't see any real change for the world.

And what exactly will it mean to the rest of the world?

Probably because there is nothing there to name. What unique talent do you speak of? What, because he can deliver a good speech? Sure, when it's prepared and in front of him. When he's speaking without a script he's not so intriguing.

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Sam

In my opinion as long as we have labels that to me are like brands we will have problems on this issue.
It is not who you are that matters it's what you do.
At least that's my opinion.

This particular asset has nothing to do with how he does his job.
I think it's a lot more than "a fleeting warm feeling" that people of other ethnicities will have when/if they see that the president of the USA is not the usual Anglo-Saxon. I think the US has, during the current administration, sustained some very serious foriegn relations damage, and that Obama, by virtue of his mixed ethnicity, is uniquely possessed of potential for healing that damage.

"Probably because there is nothing there to name. What unique talent do you speak of?" - SamintheSouth

Well, that's certainly a fair question, and it was bound to come up. So I've been thinking about it, and here's what I came up with:
Respect. He seems to genuinely respect people, opponents included. People who've worked with him in his past political life have particularly noted this. He does have a reputation for bringing diverse players together. The basis of a skill like that has got to be, IMO, respect.

If Obama was white....I think he would not have stood a chance. Sadly, this nomination contest has been about demographics. Obama is the liberal idealist. A white guy could have gotten them. However, Obama also cornered the black vote. An inexperienced white liberal with soaring rhetoric would not have gotten that. Clinton would have gotten it, dating back to the days when Clinton was "the first black President."

If a white liberal with soaring rhetoric got the Democratic nomination without any major scandals, he would probably have won in November. Since Obama is getting his left knee cap broken (probably by angry Hillary supporters) and the right one broken by his softening support among independents and Republicans due to Reverend Wright, his chances are more precarious.

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I would vote for Obama simply because he is black. Electing a black president will do more for America than the actions of any white president could. It is going to skew party politics by energizing minority voters.

A black president is far more likely to work for actual change in the poorest minority communities since that is his constituency. Unless we can develop these communities, our country will not develop.

As far as foreign policy, we stand a far greater chance of being accepted internationally with a black president. Majority of UN presidents have been African.

Even if Obama turns out to be a weak president who doesn't really accomplish much I will be glad that I voted for him.

I too think that the sheer fact that Obama is black will do wonders for race relations in the US. It will really give hope to blacks in this country and make them feel like this is their country too, as opposed to them feeling that it's a white person's country and they're just strangers or unwanted guests in it.

It would also make the US look extremely progressive and it would repair the damaged reputation we have with countries in Europe and the Middle East. There has been no major power in the world lead by a black man, with the US as the first one, it would just be totally amazing to black people everywhere. The US would be making world history.

I like McCain's position on Iraq better, and his position on earmarks is probably a good one. I like McCain the man. I lost a lot of respect for Obama after the Rev. Wright scandal. However, there's something in me that Obama touched that survived all of that and I still FEEL strongly that I like him, even if intellectually I'm more mixed on his policies and credentials.

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"Of course the fact that a person believes in racial equality doesn't prove that he's a communist...but it certainly makes you look twice, doesn't it? You can't get away from the fact that racial equality is part of the communist line." - Joseph McCarthy

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