America is gonna have a black president.

[Swede]

Isn't that too cool?

[madaboutharry]

1. Yes, it is.

:)

[Raine]

2. Way COOL!!!

B-) :party: :bounce: :woohoo: :applause:

[ClassWarrior]

3. Even better... America is going to have a RAINBOW President.

Too totally cool.

:toast:

NGU.

[faithfulcitizen]

4. so cool! But why don't people say "bi-racial"? Just wondering.

[EffieBlack]

15. Because for all intents and purposes, according to the standard set in this country long ago

Obama is black, notwithstanding the fact that he has white blood.

Most African Americans are multi-racial - very few of us are "pure" black. In fact, Obama is actually "blacker" than most black Americans, since he is 1/2 African, something that most of us cannot claim to be. Our African blood has been substantially diluted by European and Indian blood, but according to the standards applied to us for centuries, we are black, regardless how much white blood courses through our veins.

Interesting trivia - Homer Plessy, the plaintiff in the landmark Plessy v. Ferguson case that put the Supreme Court's imprimatur on legalized racial segregation - was a mulatto. In fact, according to many accounts, he was 7/8ths white, but his 1/8 fraction - "one drop" - of black blood was enough for him to be denied constitutional protections.

Perhaps Obama's elevation to the highest levels of the political world will help people better understand how insidious racism has been throughout the years and help us move away from the labels that have been imposed upon us all. But until then, Barack Obama - according to society's standards and his own definition - is a black man.

[Olney Blue]

5. Very!

[Imagevision]

6. Even better, a president with intelligence class and style

[Xipe Totec]

7. Bingo! nt

[Condem]

8. No fuckin doubt about it.

[sfam]

9. Most powerful man in the world will not be white...

Yeah, that is cool. If this isn't a world-unifying opportunity, I'm not sure what is.

[grannylib]

10. It is. I am proud to be a Democrat, in this year particularly, when both

a woman and a black man (or mixed race? sorry, which is correct and non-offensive? How does he describe himself?) have accomplished what they have.
I would have been proud to vote for whichever one of them had legitimately won the nomination.

I'm going to be so proud to vote for him in November!

[rurallib]

11. half black, half white. Not sure which half I will vote for

but it will be Obama

[Laxman]

12. It is cool, but....

How about the fact that:

1. America is about to have a smart president.
2. America is about to have a president who can put two sentences together
3. America is about to have an honest president

Keep the list going.

[stevedeshazer]

13. And a white president.

I don't get it.

[Orangepeel]

17. why don't you get it?

America is one generation removed from institutionalized racism. People who had dogs and fire hoses turned on them as they marched for voting rights are still alive. People who sent the dogs and turned on the hoses are still alive. The economic and social consequences of this institutionalized segregation are still very much in existence.

Lyndon Johnson's stroke of the pen as he signed the civil rights act did not magically make racism disappear. But Obama's nomination is evidence of how far the country has come in what is a relatively short time (although not nearly fast enough for progressives). The fact that young people in particular embrace him so heartily is evidence that we are on our way to the time when race really won't be an issue.

What's not to get?

[stevedeshazer]

21. Excuse me, but Barack Obama is just as white as he is black.

I agree with everything you have written here, but I don't need a lecture from you to "get it".

I've lived through it, kiddo.

You have entirely missed the point, and have made an ass of yourself.

[Orangepeel]

22. you're the one who said you didn't get it

:shrug:

Funny, I don't feel like an ass.

[stevedeshazer]

24. Let me explain it to you as simply as I possibly can.

What I don't get is, that Barack Obama is being portrayed by posters such as you as being "black".

He is not "black" unless you buy in to the argument that anyone who has a single drop of African blood is "black".

It's long past time, my friend, to move beyond the racist idea that mixed race people are "black" or any other color.

We're ALL human beings, descended from common ancestors.

I submit to you and anyone else that describing people by their skin color is racist. And, I still resent you lecturing me in public; we're all the same.

Why is a child of a white mother and a black father considered black?

Should we go back to calling people mulattos?

Please.

[Orangepeel]

25. Obama considers himself black

so that's that, in my opinion.

"Steve Kroft posed to Obama in an interview that aired on Sunday. Kroft asked the biracial senator why he considered himself black even though he was raised in a white household. Obama responded by telling Kroft that he never decided to be black: “I think if you look African-American in this society, you’re treated as an African-American.”
http://www.cjr.org/politics/is_obama_black_enough.php

Obama's candidacy is proof that society is progressing to the point where race doesn't matter, which is where we should be. But again, it has been one generation and the economic consequences still exist. I don't think that pretending racism no longer exists is an effective way to deal with it. I also think it minimizes what an important accomplishment Obama's candidacy is.

[stevedeshazer]

26. Intersting that the first paragraph you posted conflicts with your conclusion.

But it's been an interesting topic of discussion.

Yes, racism exists; I'm sorry that you have chosen to not move beyond it.

[Orangepeel]

27. he says he's black because society treats him as black

that was my point, along with the recognition that his candidacy shows how far society has come (in one generation). That's why, as the OP says, it's cool.

[Sultana]

14. tres cool

:bounce:

[sandnsea]

16. A President from the people

That is what excites me the most. I'm so proud we've gotten to this point racially, although there's still a long way to go. But I'm personally thrilled and relieved that someone who came up in the same circumstances as I did is going to be the President. It's unbelievable to me.

[Rwalsh]

18. Perhaps

I've come across a lot of white people here in Florida (both Republicans and Democrats) who say they'd never vote for a black man for president.

We'll see.

[stillcool]

20. I've come across a lot of white people...

who say they will never vote for a Republican. Weird huh?

[Whisp]

19. better yet, a Smart president.

who just happens to be a different shade of skin.

[CitizenLeft]

23. thank you, Swede... you are Canadian?

I'm so proud and pleased to see how most of the world has embraced him, or at least is glad for the change. :applause:

[LordJFT]

28. and America is gonna have a good president, I can barely remember what that's like