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Americans getting over-excited
mr henderson - 20/1/09 at 07:04 PM

They sure do love a party, and Obama's inauguration is providing the excuse.

Couple of points I would like to make-

Why do they think it is going to make so much difference, and why do they assume that whatever difference is does make is going to benefit them?

Why do they keep calling him black? His mother was white. It would be equally valid to describe him as white. I think describing him as black is racist. It harks back to that period in history when any observable negro heritage was enough to define a person as black.

John

JoelP - 20/1/09 at 07:09 PM

theres definate racism going on today, thats for sure. One banner said 'we have overcome'. What, exactly?

And, why the parties all over the world? Who cares? He will be no better and no worse than bush.

David Jenkins - 20/1/09 at 07:36 PM

With a name like O'Bama, it's a wonder that the Irish aren't having a party...


(I'll get my coat...)

smart51 - 20/1/09 at 08:33 PM

quote:
Originally posted by JoelP
He will be no better and no worse than bush.


No better than Bush? You'd have to try pretty hard to be worse. Sure, he's no more a political messiah than Blair was when we got all excited at the end of the tories but anyone's got to be better than Bush.

As for Obama being black, I've wondered this all along. He was raised by his white mother and her family. Objectively he is perhaps more white than black. He looks black, though, and with racism, that seems to be the deciding factor. Personally, I'm glad that they elected him whilst regarding him as black. In itself it can only be a good thing. Perhaps straddling their nation's divide between black and white is a good thing too.

Simon - 20/1/09 at 08:40 PM

I wondered about the black thing too. If he'd been elected as president of say, Kenya. Would he have been their first white president?

(Yeah, ignore the Empire connections for the moment!!)

Good luck to him anyway. If he puts the Americans in a good frame of mind, it can only help their economy and ours. Hopefully!

ATB

Simon

[Edited on 20/1/09 by Simon]

David Jenkins - 20/1/09 at 10:24 PM

I have no idea about his politics, or how effective he'll be as president, but I must say that he's an astonishingly good speaker - hell of a change after George W!

RK - 20/1/09 at 10:29 PM

Did you know it is a HISTORIC moment? And I just want you to know that I'm so EXCITED!!!

How many times have you heard that over the past few months? Hands up if it's over 10,000. No exaggeration.

iank - 20/1/09 at 10:35 PM

Americans getting over-excited, that's a tautology isn't it?

RK - 20/1/09 at 11:28 PM

No, that's the study of Egyptian kings I think. Hey, wasn't he in Batman?

[Edited on 20/1/09 by RK]

carpmart - 21/1/09 at 08:03 AM

Its sad but I can't imagine he will hold the office for long! There is a huge amount of speculation as to when the first assassination attempt will be!

White America hates the idea of a 'black' president!

Mr Whippy - 21/1/09 at 08:35 AM

quote:
Originally posted by carpmart
Its sad but I can't imagine he will hold the office for long! There is a huge amount of speculation as to when the first assassination attempt will be!

White America hates the idea of a 'black' president!


Yip could be a possibility, but his security will be extremely high anyway due to the protection Bush was getting from terrorists. I mind watching Deep Impact where the president was played by Morgan Freeman (also played god in Bruce Almighty) and I thought then that was never going to happen, that they'd elect a black president in the states. Very glad to be proven wrong

mr henderson - 21/1/09 at 09:16 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
quote:
Originally posted by carpmart
Its sad but I can't imagine he will hold the office for long! There is a huge amount of speculation as to when the first assassination attempt will be!

White America hates the idea of a 'black' president!


Yip could be a possibility, but his security will be extremely high anyway due to the protection Bush was getting from terrorists. I mind watching Deep Impact where the president was played by Morgan Freeman (also played god in Bruce Almighty) and I thought then that was never going to happen, that they'd elect a black president in the states. Very glad to be proven wrong


Aided by the fact that he's only half black, and even more by the Republicans putting up an obvious no-hoper as the only opposition. They must have actually wanted to lose.

John

Schrodinger - 21/1/09 at 11:55 PM

quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
With a name like O'Bama, it's a wonder that the Irish aren't having a party...


(I'll get my coat...)


Alex Samond has written to him as he has Scottish Blood and invited him to design his own Tartan

omega 24 v6 - 22/1/09 at 12:35 PM

quote:

Alex Samond has written to him as he has Scottish Blood and invited him to design his own Tartan

Nice to see our first Minister has got his priorities right as usual.

cd.thomson - 22/1/09 at 12:57 PM

tl;dr

but my 2 pence is that youve got the "black/white" thing all wrong. The point is not that he is of purest negro (to quote Martin Luther King) blood, that hes a direct descendant of the blackest man in history or that he has no ethnic deversity at all.

The point is that he is NOT white.

Americans have voted for a president who clearly does have a mixed ethnic background and who does appear to be coloured.

Its not his background that is important, more the background of rascism within the US.

Would this campaign have worked 50-60 years ago: Obama may appear to have coloured skin, but his mother was white! so its okay!

[Edited on 22/1/09 by cd.thomson]

Benzine - 22/1/09 at 01:38 PM

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=SD1m1AWaqbg

adam1985 - 22/1/09 at 02:56 PM

everyones making a big deal that hes black could you imagine what would happen if a white was elected and everyone was cheering saying woohoo we have a white president there would alot of people very p!ssed off