Reply #114: Spoken like a true Mainlander. Barack Obama was raised in the most multi-ethnic place imaginable...

[Hekate]

"Conservative social thinking is almost entirely the realm of white guys. And that's how Obama was raised." With all due respect, I don't think so.

For one thing, Hawai'i and Indonesia are not the places you would raise any child to "think white" (whatever that is to you). Surrounded on all sides by Pacific Islanders and Asians, Barack Obama's mother did her best to give him a sense of his own identity as an African American; whether or not you have personal doubts about some sort of authenticity, it gave him a place to begin. Also, his family in Hawai'i was not unusual in being biracial, far from it.

For another, despite the strong Democratic history of Hawai'ian politics since WW II, the large Asian-American part of the population tends to be socially conservative -- or at least that was the case during the decades I lived there. The desire for justice and fairness and equality and all that were givens, particularly for the generation that came of age in WW II and had to prove themselves in the 442nd; but a certain cast of mind that values strong family ties, respect for elders, order, education, thrift, and so forth was also present in much of the population. It's not about color.

I am fascinated at the extent to which so many see so many different things in Barack Obama. It's only very recently that there have been a few articles printed in the media attempting to come to grips with the influence of Hawai'i on him. One that was published in an Asian-American journal said forthrightly that he is the first Asian-Pacific Islander US president, and laid out the case for that based on the influences of where he was raised. Another was by a Buddhist from Thailand who attended Harvard at the same time as Obama, although they never met: this person looks at him through the lens of his own worldview. The New York Times chimed in on Obama's calm demeanor and desire to bring harmony by doing a little digging into the Hawai'ian culture with people who actually live there ... If you're interested at all, here's a few links.

http://www.bangkokpost.com//211108_Realtime/21Nov2008_real001.php
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/25/us/politics/25obama.html?_r=1
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1856583,00.html

The MSM keeps referring to Maya Soetoro-Ng as his "half-sister" which imo is too bad. She's his sister. Nonetheless, look at the Hawaiian family he has: when he and Michelle visit with the girls, they are the African-American contingent of a quintessentially "local" family: Haole, Indonesian, Chinese, and the ones who live on the Mainland bringing the kids home to soak up Island culture.

I don't know what the future will bring, but I am very interested to see what it is. I'm glad you don't "hate" the guy, because I think you're interested too. :-)

Hekate