Obama would touch a lot more people if he could connect as a mixed race person. Denying his roots and calling himself only African American is a lie!!!

And, personally, I always get annoyed when people put 'random racial group here' first, and then 'American' second.

I'm an American whose family came from the Caribbean. Done.

He probably said something along those lines in a speech somewhere, but frankly, I'm sick of politician's making speeches, so I probably just blanked out during one of his.

"Denies his mother's race"? What on Earth are you babbling about? His father is African. His mother is American. Ergo, he's an African-American. He's never hidden the fact that half of his family is white, nor that it was that half that he spent the most time with growing up. Anyway, it's not Obama's fault that mixed-race people in America are generally perceived as "black": Halle Berry, Tiger Woods, Bob Marley, etc. Do you "wonder" about them, too?

He needs to correct people who call him "black" or African American" (another phrase for black). He is bi-racial. His father is black, his mother is white. He is denying his mother's race when he doesn't correct people. By the way, "American" is not another word for white!

Tiger Woods does not label himself as black and corrects people who address him that way. His mother is Thai and he said that to consider himself black would be denying his mother.

But it sure wouldn't be a bad random first guess if you guessed the ethnic group "White American" since you would be correct 74% of the time. Now with Obama leading in the current Nomination race, obviously Obama must be attracting lots of support from the 74% of" White Americans".

Otherwise, how could he possibly be ahead?

southsidered:

His father is African. His mother is American. Ergo, he's an African-American.

That was beautifully done. :)

As a man who shares the same heritage as Barack Obama, I think you are being quite unfair. I know from experience that groups across the skin-color spectrum regard such a person as black. There is a long history in this country of disregarding any white ancestors, no matter how recent, and classifying any person with black ancestry as black. Try learning about the "one-drop rule." In this context, it would not be a contradiction to acknowledge that he has one parent who is white and at the same time refer to him as black. He has never hidden the fact that his mother is white, but it seems that when you tell people about both sides of your family, it is as if there is some sort of filter that removes "and my mother is white." If you push the issue when you are referred to as black, it is seen by many as denying your roots, because as far as they're concerned you were born black and you will die black. "Both" is rarely acknowledged as an option. People are constantly trying to force you to take sides--but only one answer is acceptable. Don't you think it's odd that he could never claim to be white, yet hardly any eyebrows are raised when he is referred to as black? The label he has chosen says more about the sentiments of the nation than his own. This is a label that will be assigned to him regardless of whether or not he accepts it. Though progress has been made, the country has not magically become some multicultural utopia in the 25 years that separate me from Senator Obama.

ditto - there's a difference between race and nationality

heads up - race and nationality are not one and the same.....perhaps understanding this could more clearly define the discussion?