Is America Really ready for African American President?

As posted on the Alien Patriot:

Is America really ready for Barack Obama?

I have to admit that I watch this race a little bit from the sidelines – I'm not an American citizen, but long time resident.

When I first heard that Senator Obama is running for President, I immediately asked my wife (she is American):

"Do you think that America is really ready for an African American President?"

She replied: "I think so. Why?"

I said: "Well from where I come from, ethnic groups are always rooting for their fellow people. The Turks root for the Turks, the Serbs for the Serbs, the Albanians for Albanians etc... and that's even true for many of the second or third generation immigrants back home.

I don't think that in my home country you will see a President from any of these second or third generation immigrant families any time soon.

Not that they would not try to run, but they represent a minority and as long people in general would have a feeling that these candidates would be biased towards their own ethnic group, they of course would not vote for such a person.

From what I can see here in America, there is a greater openness towards minorities, but there is still a clear division between African Americans, Asian, Hispanic and Caucasians.

As African Americans and Hispanics always point out that the White government is rooting more for white people, what should make us believe that an African American candidate would not root more for the African American community. With 68% of white folks in America it's hard to make a case for a candidate who possibly is biased towards a smaller minority."

I know Barack Obama always highlights that he is lucky about his white and black heritage, but record shows that he rooted for African Americans and African Americans root for him. Not that there is anything wrong with that. Race is hard to transcend. It is natural that you root for those who you feel most connected with.

Barack Obama might still able to win the election, if he gets all the minority votes, liberal votes and many white folks stay home.

But even if he wins he will have a hard time to move in large steps. If he disenfranchises white folks, he has 2/3 of the population against him. (It's not comparable to when a white government is doing something that disenfranchises African Americans, after all African Americans are only 12% of the population.)

The Washington Post said in 1998 in the Myth of the Melting Pot:

"More often than not, the neighborhoods where Americans live, the politicians and propositions they vote for, the cultures they immerse themselves in, the friends and spouses they have, the churches and schools they attend, and the way they view themselves are defined by ethnicity. The question is whether, in the midst of such change, there is also enough glue to hold Americans together."

Even though America has become a great nation due to the influence of all different cultures and races, the great American melting pot has not turned this country into one unified, unbiased nation.

The Alien Patriot