Barack Obama: The first Jewish president?

[mucifer]

Chicago circle nurtured him all the way to the top

By Tom Hundley | Tribune reporter
December 12, 2008

Writer Toni Morrison famously dubbed Bill Clinton "the first black president"—a title he fervently embraced.

Abner Mikva, the Chicago Democratic Party stalwart and former Clinton White House counsel, offers a variation on that theme. "If Clinton was our first black president, then Barack Obama is our first Jewish president," says Mikva, who was among the first to spot the potential of the skinny young law school graduate with the odd name.

"I use a Yiddish expression, yiddishe neshuma, to describe him," explains Mikva. "It means a Jewish soul. It's an expression my mother used. It means a sensitive, sympathetic personality, someone who understands where you are coming from."

Obama, of course, is a Christian. And his middle name is Hussein. In the presidential election, he won 78 percent of the Jewish vote and about 70 percent of the Arab-American vote, according to unofficial exit polling. Obama collected 52.8 percent of the overall vote.
*snip* more at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-obama-jews-wrapdec12,0,1483597.story


My 75yo Jewish mother handed me this article with a big smile on her face. Then I got one, too. :)

[happychatter]

1. This should be right up there in the MSM for human interest

thank you for posting

it's simply beautiful

[ellacott]

2. And to think that the MSM was trying to say he had a jewish problem

[Bombtrack]

3. I thought Toni Morrison's coinage was dumb and I think this one is too

I put much more hope and intuition in the notion Barack is the first really secular President since the era of the founding fathers.

[VADem11]

4. I've also heard

Obama referred to as the first Asian-American President because of his issues with identity, his childhood in Hawaii and his emphasis on education.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2008/07/30/apop.DTL

[mucifer]

5. Cool!

[BrklynLiberal]

6. So that is perfect...He is little bit of everything.

[Clio the Leo]

8. He's related to four different ethnic groups....

.... five if you want to seperate African American and native African. His sis is Indonesian, his bro-in law is Chinese American, and of course we all know about his mom, dad, his wife and kids.

And not only that, but he's got relatives literally scattered across the globe.

It's this world view that will prove invaluable to him as he leads us (and by "us" I mean the entire planet.)

[Clio the Leo]

7. He truly belongs to everyone .... that's the beauty of it.

He's like Santa Clause but hotter!!!

Well .... maybe like Santa Clause! lol

The tooth fairy then!

[mucifer]

9. Except Santa doesn't belong to the Jews or some of the Asians. (Some yes some no).

:)

[Clio the Leo]

10. yeah, see, that's why I changed it to the tooth fairy ...

... keep up now. :)

[mucifer]

11. sorry!

:)

[FrenchieCat]

12. Wow! The guy gets around!

He's representin' Illinois (lived there), Hawaii (Born there), Indonesia (His sister is half and he lived there), Kansas (Mom's birthplace), Ireland (his mom's ancestoral origin), Africa (his father's birthplace), and England (his father was a British subject)...and he's also went to school in New York, Massachusetts and Los Angeles, and his middle name is Muslim. His BIL is Chinese Canadian, and his wife's family is from South Carolina...! Plus, yes, his wife's uncle is a Jewish Rabbi.

Anyways, that's what I call an American President. :patriot:

[AspenRose]

14. Isn't it beautiful?!

I LOVE it!

[democrattotheend]

13. He made me cry during one of the primary debates

When he was asked about his relationship with the Jewish community and he said "I would not be here today were it not for the courage of Jewish leaders during the civil rights movement" or something like that.

[bridgit]

15. hahahaha, OMG, he's the Banana Man...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpVkRu0QkE8 :headbang:

[Chulanowa]

16. And his brisket is beyond.

It's beyond.

[elleng]

17. Glad to see it!

Ab Mikva represented my congressional district in Chicago, which was also Obama's; they've both gone on to bigger and better things! Mikva was excellent Appeals Court judge.

[TheWraith]

18. You know, Michelle Obama's first cousin is one of the biggest Rabbis in Chicago.

Seriously. Capers Funnye, the head of Beth Shalom B'nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation. They're apparently not particularly close, but still...

[elleng]

19. Interesting;

Ethiopian Hebrew

[elleng]

20. info

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capers_C._Funnye_Jr.

[elleng]

21. dupe

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capers_C._Funnye_Jr.