Will Obama have to be better because he's black?

[Terminator]

(CNN) -- Just days before he was sworn in, President Obama was giving his daughters a tour of the Lincoln Memorial when one of them pointed to a copy of Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address carved into the wall.
Obama's 7-year-old daughter, Sasha, told her father that Lincoln's speech was really long. Would he have to give a speech as long? Obama's answer was completed by his older daughter, 10-year-old Malia.
"I said, 'Actually, that one is pretty short. Mine may even be a little longer,' " Obama told CNN recently. "At which point, Malia turns to me and says, 'First African-American president, better be good.' "
The story is light-hearted, but it touches on a delicate question: Will people hold Obama to a different standard because he is the first African-American president?
Americans appear split by race on that answer. According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, 53 percent of blacks say the American public will hold Obama to a higher standard than past presidents because he is black. Most whites -- 61 percent -- say Obama's race will not matter in how he will be judged.
The question divided several people who were racial pioneers themselves.
Alexander Jefferson was one of the first blacks allowed to become a fighter pilot. He was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of black pilots who escorted bombers in World War II.
"We had to be twice as good to be average," he said.
Obama won't face the same pressures he did because his presidential predecessor was so inept, Jefferson says.
"No, the world is ready for him," he said. "The [George W.] Bush debacle was so depressing."
Jefferson was shot down by ground fire on his 19th mission and spent a year in German prison camps. He wrote about his POW experiences in "Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman and POW."
Jefferson says he dealt with the pressures of being a racial pioneer by drawing on the strength of black leaders who opened doors for him.
"I sit on the backs of everyone who came before me," said Jefferson, who attended Obama's inauguration with other Tuskegee Airmen.
Jefferson says he would have emotionally imploded if he'd thought too much about the pressures of representing all blacks and dealing with the racism he encountered when he returned home to a segregated America after the war.
"I did what I had to do so I didn't go stark-raving mad," he said. "There wasn't all this self-analysis and back and forth. I was too damn busy with a wife, a child and a mortgage."
Michele Andrea Bowen couldn't avoid a bout of constant self-analysis. She was one of the first African-American students admitted to a doctorate program in history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
"I know Obama is going to be held to a different standard," said Bowen, author of "Up at the College" and books such as "Holy Ghost Corner," which celebrate black faith and culture.
Bowen says she faced relentless scrutiny, and so will Obama.
"You know that it was hard for you to get in it, and you know they're watching you," Bowen said. "And you know that they're judging you by a critical standard that's sometimes not fair."
Bowen says a white classmate, her partner in dissertation, once confided to her that he received the same grades as she did, even though he knew his work was inferior.
"It toughened me up," Bowen said. "It can give you headaches and stomachaches. I learned you have to be thankful that God blessed you with that opportunity. At some point, you stop worrying, and you trust God."
'Would Bush have been president if he were black?'
Perhaps Obama will avoid those stomachaches because of the massive good will his election has generated. But that could change quickly if Obama makes a controversial decision or a mistake, says Andrew Rojecki, co-author of "The Black Image in the White Mind: Media and Race in America."
Rojecki says people who say Obama isn't going to be held to a different standard because of his skin color didn't pay attention to his campaign.
He says Obama had to deal with challenges that other candidates didn't have to face. Obama's run for office was almost ended by his association with his minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whose incendiary sermons shocked many.
But Republican presidential nominee John McCain's relationship with the Rev. John Hagee, who was accused of anti-Semitism, never threatened to end his campaign, Rojecki says.
"Obama was held responsible for what his minister said, and McCain was associated with Hagee, but somehow that didn't stick," Rojecki said.
Even people who regard themselves as the most progressive, open-minded supporters may subconsciously hold Obama to a different standard, Rojecki says.
He says several academic studies show that it often takes people longer to associate good qualities to blacks when different faces are flashed across a screen.
"They have these stereotypes buried in their subconscious," he said. "That's why people cross the street when they see a young black man. They'd rather not take a chance."
Obama virtually had to be perfect to overcome those stereotypes, Rojecki says. He was the first black editor of the Harvard Law Review, he has an Ivy League-educated wife and adorable daughters, and he ran a great campaign.
"He's the perfect symbol of achievement," Rojecki said.
White candidates for office don't have to have an uninterrupted life of achievement to be considered for the Oval Office, Rojecki says.
"If George W. Bush were black, do you think he would be president?" Rojecki asked.
Jefferson, the Tuskegee Airman, says Obama should have at least one consolation. The problems he confronts now are so immense that anyone, even someone who was considered by many to be perfect, would not be able to escape withering judgment.
"If the president was Jesus Christ, '' Jefferson said, "they would still debate if he's qualified.

[BigDawg]

Why does everything in this damn country have to be about race????

[Retdetsgt]

When his plans don't work, you can be it'll be because we're a racist country....

[BigDawg]

When his plans dont work they will blame it all on his white side.

[irishmick]

No. When his plans don't work we'll all just be shot so that we don't make any noise about it. This is, of course, after he gets rid of term limits and turns us all into socialists.

[Dustoff262]

There is a pendulunm in America, and its swinging way to the left. It will take four years of recession, drops in property value and sky high taxes before it starts to swing to the right. Americans as a whole are very compassionate and generous. We have a heart that wants to save cute furry creatures with big puppy eyes, we want to try to save others from themselves by trying to legislate better health practices (no more cooking with MSG or bad cholesterol), save the children in another country which by OUR standards are considered impoverished. Yet, at the same time, predators are killing babies but we dont want to use the death penalty as an appropriate punishment. We criticize people who look naturally healthy and can only accept perfection from a magazine. We dont adopt kids who need a home that are U.S. Citizens, but want to adopt a child from some jungle village elsewhere in the world.

So, Barack is just another "experiment" phase that Americans are going through. "Lets vote for the black guy so that we can prove we arent racists. If the names "Whitey, The Man, or Cracker" is used against us, then we can always throw back "Hey, I voted for Obama!" Obama will have to truly overcome his own racism about America, and his family lineage, in order for him to really get to work for the American People. That wont happen. His memory is short, his ambition is high, and his pride his own stumbling block. He will never be a centrist, and as a result, he will go down in history as America's "First Black President".

Obama should be worried about that. He shouldnt be remembered as "first" of anything. He should want to be remembered as a man who steered this country into prosperity, kept the nation safe, and restored the Greatness of America in foriegn affairs.

But, this may be too much to hope for, for a man who's wife has just discovered her pride as an American. A man who just found out how to put an American Flag pin on his lapel, and couldnt put more than two sentences in his Inaugral Address thanking W for such service during the most turbulent times in recent history.

So, is he better because he is "Black"? Nope.

[lewisipso]

Will Obama have to be better because he's black?

Yep. Is it right? Nope. There are persons who are prepared to claim Obama will be a failure simply because of his skin color. In a derrogatory sense mind you. Most of these people are not brave enough to claim this in the open. It will be claimed at the corner store, beer parties, and campfires. It will be discussed at cookouts and kitchen tables. Livingrooms and dens.
The shame of it is his failure will be attributed to his policies and party affiliation in public forums and his skin color/race in private. I'm already hearing it.

[Rhino]

Why does everything in this damn country have to be about race????

Because if it weren't then the race warlords like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton would be out of a job. Imagine, a world where people are judged not by the color of their skin, but the content of their character. What kind of maniac would think of something like that?

[bayern]

When his plans dont work they will blame it all on his white side.

Can't blaim it on his racist Grandmother - she's dead.

[Dustoff262]

Wasnt Kennedy doubted for his religion? Wasnt Roosevelt's leadership questioned because of his handicap? So now anyone questioning Obama's ability is a racist? To those and to Obama supporters I say this. Get over it. Put the pedal to the metal and prove yourself just as others have. Adversity brings on strength. If he doesnt over come these barriers, then he wasnt the right choice for POTUS.

[jking09]

you know, as much as we don't want it to be, Obama's race does have a lot to do with the way he'll have to carry out his presidency.. it's just the way our country is.. we've got a lot of racist and prejudice people.. but also, too many blacks don't even understand politics and have never voted before but in 2008 they somehow managed to make it to the polls to cast their vote.. its almost a fascist act..Obama has socialist views but people don't care because of his race.. so yes, it does matter when it comes to his actions.. he got voted in by race (as much as people would like to think differently, it played a MASSIVE roll) so it's going to come his way because of race.. end.

[Retdetsgt]

but also, too many blacks don't even understand politics and have never voted before but in 2008 they somehow managed to make it to the polls to cast their vote.. its almost a fascist act..

I think just as high a percentage of whites don't understand politics. Race has little to do with. And I haven't read that the numbers of Blacks voting was significantly higher this election than any other. They've alway mostly voted Democratic as the marority of people living in big cities. The swing was the people who bought into Obama's line of change.

[Dustoff262]

If you put all the African Americans, and Latinos together and voted for the democratic ticket, and tossed in at least 40% of the White vote, Obama still wouldnt have won the election. It took an overwhelming White vote, and a few republican states that put B.O. in the Whitehouse. He only won 52% of the popular vote. He beat an Old Guy and a MILF. The Republicans really lost this election because they had no message for the American people to follow.

"In the absence of genuine leadership, they'll listen to anyone who steps up to the microphone."

-Michael Douglas - movie "The American President".

[Dustoff262]

There is a pendulunm in America, and its swinging way to the left. It will take four years of recession, drops in property value and sky high taxes before it starts to swing to the right. Americans as a whole are very compassionate and generous. We have a heart that wants to save cute furry creatures with big puppy eyes, we want to try to save others from themselves by trying to legislate better health practices (no more cooking with MSG or bad cholesterol), save the children in another country which by OUR standards are considered impoverished. Yet, at the same time, predators are killing babies but we dont want to use the death penalty as an appropriate punishment. We criticize people who look naturally healthy and can only accept perfection from a magazine. We dont adopt kids who need a home that are U.S. Citizens, but want to adopt a child from some jungle village elsewhere in the world.

So, Barack is just another "experiment" phase that Americans are going through. "Lets vote for the black guy so that we can prove we arent racists. If the names "Whitey, The Man, or Cracker" is used against us, then we can always throw back "Hey, I voted for Obama!" Obama will have to truly overcome his own racism about America, and his family lineage, in order for him to really get to work for the American People. That wont happen. His memory is short, his ambition is high, and his pride his own stumbling block. He will never be a centrist, and as a result, he will go down in history as America's "First Black President".

Obama should be worried about that. He shouldnt be remembered as "first" of anything. He should want to be remembered as a man who steered this country into prosperity, kept the nation safe, and restored the Greatness of America in foriegn affairs.

But, this may be too much to hope for, for a man who's wife has just discovered her pride as an American. A man who just found out how to put an American Flag pin on his lapel, and couldnt put more than two sentences in his Inaugral Address thanking W for such service during the most turbulent times in recent history.

So, is he better because he is "Black"? Nope.

I wanted to revisit this posting because its been almost 2 yrs and interesting to see how close anyone came to what they saw back then, to what is happening now. Has anyone changed their mind since his historic presidency??

[Ducky]

I'd say, according to recent approval ratings, that a LOT of people have changed their minds about him.

Obama Approval Ratings Lowest of Presidency

by LA Holmes | October 21, 2010
President Barack Obama's approval rating has dropped more than 18 points since taking office to an all-time low of 44.7 percent, according to a new Gallup poll.

Read more: Obama Approval Ratings Lowest of Presidency | Foxnews.com

[lewisipso]

I think it will be very soon that time will begin to share what it knows.

[keith720]

My opinion hasn't changed, though I am suprised that he is making Jimmy Carter look like a good president! I didn't think anyone could do that!

[Five-0]

Being black has nothing to do with Obama's presidency. Being a liberal and Chicago bread politician has everything to do with his presidency. Try this on for size....I believe he is an American, but he is far from an American President. Not to mention, you can't hate America and lead America successfully.

[Dustoff262]

Approval ratings are directly related to the economy. Have money to spend, feel good about yourself, and you like the ones in charge. Someone please send that memo to dumbo!!!

[lewisipso]

Being black has nothing to do with Obama's presidency. Being a liberal and Chicago bread politician has everything to do with his presidency. Try this on for size....I believe he is an American, but he is far from an American President. Not to mention, you can't hate America and lead America successfully.

Agreed.