Barack Obama: Our First Gay-Female-Hispanic-Asian-Jewish President

The Atlantic Wire ^ | 05/14/2012 | Eric Randall

[Olog-hai]

Newsweek's cover this week declares that Barack Obama is the "First Gay President," playing on the reader's knowledge that Obama isn't himself gay, but his support for same-sex marriage earns him an honorary rainbow halo. The headline obviously calls back to 1998, when Toni Morrison declared Bill Clinton the first black president in The New Yorker, which at the time was edited by current Newsweek editor Tina Brown. …Newsweek's cover has been called "controversial" and "pretty shocking," but it's merely the most recent in presidential firsts that weren't for the country's actual first black president.

First Female President: Perhaps Newsweek should have been more specific and declared Obama the "first lesbian president" because the magazine's already given him the honor of womanhood. …

First Jewish President: Like this week's issue of Newsweek, New York magazine went big on their Morrison reappropriation. Former White House counsel Abner Mikva told John Heilemann "When this all is over, people are going to say that Barack Obama is the first Jewish president." The magazine made it their cover.

First Asian-American President: In 2009, the AFP ran with the headline, "Obama the first Asian-American president?" As evidence, the article notes that in his first hundred days, "Obama appointed a record three Asian-Americans cabinet members and quickly focused his attention across the Pacific. He invited Japan's prime minister as his first guest and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went to Asia on her maiden trip."

First Hispanic President: Geraldo Rivera spoke in March 2009 about the hopes the Hispanic community had for Obama's immigration policies, alleging "Barack Obama is the first Hispanic president the same way Bill Clinton was the first black [one]." …

[PGR88]

He’s a lot more gay than he’s letting on, too.

[Olog-hai]

Is his sin clair?

[Perdogg]

Margaret Cho is President?

[Olog-hai]

And clearly, Cho and Obama are one and the same.

[grumpygresh]

First Jewish, female, Asian-American, Hispanic, Gay president. No.

First Muslim president, yes.

[x]

What they're saying is that there's something "exotic" and not "White bread" or standard vanilla about Obama.

If you think about it's rather patronizing, and comes close to qualifying as "racist" by today's strange standards.

Of course, people like to say stupid things like this, but the first Jewish or Hispanic or Asian president will be ... well the first Jewish person or Latino or Asian we elect president.

The funny thing is that Clinton may be culturally more "Black" than Obama and still qualifies for some people as "our first [and so far only] Black President."

[Average Al]

Joliet Prison: We can only hope this is his presidental library.

[b4its2late]

Did someone forget the muslim in him?

[shadowrider]

How about the next president just be an AMERICAN president

[Olog-hai]

The liberal media and pundits, most likely.

[Average Al]

Yep, never thought I would live long enough to have had that be an issue.

[Hardraade]

And don’t forget he’s Irish too..

[Robwin]

How pathetic and desperate his worshippers are.