Obama is for Everyone

Senator Barack Obama's historic candidacy has increased attention to the role of race in America. While commentators have explored multiple perspectives on this issue, few have addressed the claim that Senator Obama cannot be too closely aligned with African Americans in order to be considered a viable candidate for president.

The full impact of this largely overlooked theme hit home for me during the Democratic convention in Denver. I was seated in the stadium awaiting Barack Obama's nomination speech along with 80,000 other Americans of diverse backgrounds when, smiling serenely, an African-American male with a hand-made sign that read, "Brothers for Obama" stopped in front of our seating section. Behind me, a white male who looked to be in his 30s raised his voice in agitation telling the sign bearer to go away. I recall him saying that Obama "is for everyone."

Although the smile never left the African-American man's face, he moved on to other sections before returning a half an hour later. Again, the same white male, this time in an even greater state of agitation, yelled a similar response. His angry reaction seemed out of place and unseemly in a stadium filled with a mood of harmony and excitement about the historic nature of the nomination event. Indeed, I looked around during this exchange and the man's friends and others in our area seemed uncomfortable with his reaction.

There were other signs and buttons surrounding us—signs that read "Women for Obama," "Workers for Obama," "Veterans for Obama," and "Latinos for Obama"—that did not generate the same kind of angry reaction from this man. Indeed, he did not even seem aware of his own double standard.

This example, and others throughout the campaign, raises the question of whether an Obama presidency will be able to address the policy concerns of African Americans without some claiming that he is unfairly biased. Who could imagine a political strategist making the equivalent of this argument about George W. Bush or former President Clinton when it comes to their interactions with white Americans?

There has been muted concern among many African Americans about this aspect of the national dialogue. For implicit in these arguments is the notion that issues of concern to African Americans should be expected to take a back seat if Senator Obama is becomes the next President. Yet why should issues facing African Americans (e.g., skyrocketing rates of HIV/AIDS, incarceration, and failing schools) be any less eligible for policy action simply because the presidential candidate is also an African American?

Imagine the absurdity of an Obama Administration that failed to address policy issues of utmost concern to African Americans—a demographic providing him with a larger percentage of votes than any other group in the nation—even as it addressed the concerns of whites, religious groups, business owners and any other multitude of interest groups seeking the president's help.

To be sure, there are some who argue that public policies should benefit the nation as a whole. While this noble sentiment is appropriate when it comes to some issues like national security, it ignores the realities of a democracy driven by interest group advocacy. According to Harold Lasswell, a noted 20^th century political scientist, politics is the process of determining "who gets what, when, and how." And, it is often the squeakiest wheels—those who demonstrate voting, fundraising and lobbying prowess—who receive the most from our democratic institutions.

Furthermore, lawmakers often draft policies to meet the expressed needs of target populations. That is why we have aging policies to address the needs of the elderly, faith-based policies to support the needs of religious groups, income security programs to address the needs of those in poverty, tax preferences to support homeowners, and gender-specific policies—such as the Violence Against Women Act—to address the concerns of women. Why should we expect our democracy to work differently for African Americans?

Ultimately, the angry white guy in Denver's Invesco Field stadium was right--Obama's candidacy should be for all Americans. However, this cannot be achieved if African Americans do not assert, as Martin Luther King (echoing former President Calvin Coolidge) once espoused, "the full measure of citizenship." This includes maintaining the right to participate equally in and receive equal outcomes from our democracy—regardless of who occupies the White House.

By addressing African-American concerns alongside the concerns of Americans from other racial and ethnic groups, the next president of the United States has a chance to help us achieve this uniquely American dream.