"There are tens of millions of white Americans who are part of ethnic groups that have never produced a president," Boaz writes. "The fact is, all 42 of our presidents have been of British, Irish, or Germanic descent. We've never had a president of southern or eastern European ancestry. Despite the millions of Americans who came to the New World from France, Italy, Poland, Spain, Scandinavia, Russia, and other parts of Europe–not to mention Asia and the Arab world and Latin America–we've never had a president who traced his ancestry to those parts of the world." Boaz later adds:

As Philip Q. Yang put it in his book Ethnic Studies: Issues and Approaches, "There have been no presidents of southern and eastern European descent; and none of Jewish, African, Latino, Asian, or Indian descent." We've had 37 presidents of British (English, Scottish, or Welsh) or Irish descent; three of Dutch descent (Van Buren and the two Roosevelts); and two of Swiss/German descent (Hoover and Eisenhower). Of course, these categories usually refer to the president's paternal line; Reagan, for instance, was Irish on his father's side but not on his mother's. But that doesn't change the overall picture.

In this light, Obama's achievement is even more remarkable. He has achieved something that no American politician even of southern or eastern European heritage has managed. But I think we can assume that from now on there won't be any perceived disadvantage to candidates of Italian, French, Asian, or other previous genealogies not previously seen in the White House. For that, congratulations to Barack Obama." (NYT)
         
Comments:

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We made a decision tonight, we decided against self-interest and for the greater good. I can't wait to help.

— Anne V

2. November 5, 2008
1:28 am

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I really doubt that there was "any perceived disadvantage to candidates of Italian, French" or any other white ethnicity to gaining the White House. What Obama already has accomplished is far more historic.

— Miande

3. November 5, 2008
2:30 am

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While Barack Obama may not be from Southern or Eastern ancestry he does represent the melting pot that the Statue of Liberty embraces. A white woman from Kansas and a black man from Kenya at a time where miscegenation was still against the law in at least one state in America. He does represent in a very real and anthropological sense all of us, I volunteered for Obama and I believe that his campaign and the melding of people with technology will be a paradigm for all future political campaigns. That being said does it really matter where he is from we will always see color but we should also learn to see beyond that and recognize that genetically we are more alike than we are different and thereby recognize that we have to make decisions that are for the greater good rather than individual self-interest.

— Lawrence W

4. November 5, 2008
2:37 am

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My hope is this man, Barack Obama, will be the real "uniter", reach across the aisles, appoint people who are competent in their jobs. I hope this is the man who will be for everyone regardless of color, creed, origin, because this is America. I have a really good feeling about him. He has an enormous task ahead of him, but I think people will help him any way they can.

— miria s

5. November 5, 2008
6:00 am

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This is a great achievement for all. The younger generation, which I am part of, has as well. I am so proud of what we have done with this election. I am currently studying in England at an American campus and the amount that we have watched the election is substantial. Many of us stayed up to watch debates, gone to lectures and most importantly, voted. We stood up for something we believed in, whatever it is, from thousands of miles away.

— Sandahl Masson