Barack Obama, who served as thePresident of the United States from 2009 to 2017, has elicited a number of public perceptions regarding his personality and background. As the firstAfrican-American president of the United States, his race and culture played a prominent role, both positively and negatively.
His relative youth (47 when elected) has alternately resulted in him being praised for his freshness and criticized for his inexperience. His temperament and demeanor have been praised for perceived unflappability, but criticized for a perception of lacking emotional attachment.
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Personal Illinois State Senator and U.S. Senator from Illinois 44th President of the United States Tenure
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Obama, who isbiracial, self-identifies as African-American due to being black Kenyan and white American.[1][2] His father was ablackKenyan from theLuo ethnic group and his mother waswhite ofEuropean descent, mainly of English lineage. Obama, who grew to adulthood after theCivil Rights Movement, had early life experiences that differed from most African American politicians who launched their careers in the 1960s through participation in that movement. He was brought up inHonolulu, Hawaii, lived inJakarta, Indonesia as a young child, and received a privateprep school andIvy League education.[3]
In a March 2007 op-ed, African-American film criticDavid Ehrenstein of theLos Angeles Times said that Obama was an early popular contender for the presidency not because of his political record, but because whites viewed him as a kind of "comic-book superhero", who would selflessly solve white people's problems.[4] Black commentators such as Stanley Crouch of the New YorkDaily News expressed mixed feelings about his racial identity, while others like Laura Washington (Chicago Sun-Times), Gary Younge (The Nation), and Clarence Page (Houston Chronicle) reported a general ambivalence among the black community about his authenticity as an African-American.[5]
In January 2007,The End of Blackness author Debra Dickerson warned against drawing favorable cultural implications from Obama's political rise: "Lumping us all together",[6] Dickerson claimed it, "erases the significance of slavery and continuing racism while giving the appearance of progress". On the liberal website Salon Debra wrote, "African-American, in our political and social vocabulary, means those descended from West African slaves, because Obama is not a descendant of West Africans brought involuntarily to the United States as slaves, he is not African-American,"[6] although his father is from Africa. Stanley Crouch wrote in the New YorkDaily News, "Obama's mother is of white U.S. stock. His father is a black Kenyan," in a column entitled "What Obama Isn't: Black Like Me".[7]
Addressing the issue of whether he was "black enough," Obama told an August 2007 meeting of theNational Association of Black Journalists that the debate was not about his physical appearance or his record on issues of concern to black voters. Obama said, "we're still locked in this notion that if you appeal to white folks then there must be something wrong."[8]
After a McCain advertisement accused Obama of being "just a celebrity likeBritney Spears orParis Hilton," Obama asserted that McCain and other Republicans would try to scare voters because he (Obama) "doesn't look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills." The Obama campaign initially denied that the comment was on race, but campaign strategistDavid Axelrod later conceded that it was.[9]
Though the media discussed his racial and ethnic heritage, a 2008 post-election poll byFactCheck.org found that about 22% of Americans still incorrectly believed that Obama is halfArab, possibly due to the influence of misleading blogs and the conflation of the religious heritage of his Muslim Kenyan father with being of the Arab race.[10]
In 2010, when filling out his form for the2010 United States census, Obama self-identified as African American.[2]
Obama's election was also met with hostile reactions connected to his race, birthplace, and religion, and as president, he faced numerous taunts, racist remarks and generally racialized criticisms by some conservative pundits.[11][12][13][14] Some also falselyclaimed that Obama practicedIslam – at a time whenanti-Muslim sentiments wereprevalent in the United States[15][16] – with a 2015 CNN poll finding that 29% of Americans believed Obama to be a Muslim.[17]
Starting in 2011,Donald Trump – who would later directly succeed Obama as president – would regularly promote conspiracy theories that Obama hadbeen born inKenya, and therefore, was not an American citizen.[18][19] Trump winning the presidency right after Obama was described by some commentators as the culmination of decades ofwhite backlash against Black Americans achieving social mobility in the face of racist policies against them.[20][21]Carol Anderson, author of the bookWhite Rage and a professor ofAfrican-American studies, said that Obama was caught off guard by the backlash, and "was surprised by how racist this country is."[22]
In September 2009, former PresidentJimmy Carter stated that "I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man."[23] Though Obama publicly disagreed with Carter's assessment at the time,[24] in a 2015 interview withNPR, he also said, when asked about critics who believed he was making their country worse:
If you are referring to specific strains in the Republican Party that suggest that somehow I'm different, I'm Muslim, I'm disloyal to the country, etc., which unfortunately is pretty far out there and gets some traction in certain pockets [...] what I'd say there is that that's probably pretty specific to me and who I am and my background, and that in some ways I may represent change that worries them.
In the same interview, however, he also stated that, despite the existence of racially motivated criticism against him, others who criticize his policies may still have "perfectly good reasons" for doing so.[25][26]
I'm a Christian by choice. My family didn't—frankly, they weren't folks who went to church every week. And my mother was one of the mostspiritual people I knew, but she didn't raise me in the church. So I came to my Christian faith later in life, and it was because the precepts ofJesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead—beingmy brothers' and sisters' keeper,treating others as they would treat me. I think also understanding that Jesus Christdying for my sins spoke to thehumility we all have to have as human beings, that we're sinful and we're flawed and we make mistakes, and that we achievesalvation through thegrace of God. But what we can do, as flawed as we are, is still seeGod in other people and do our best to help them find their own grace. That's what I strive to do. That's what Ipray to do every day. I think my public service is part of that effort to express my Christian faith.
InThe Audacity of Hope, Obama writes that he "was notraised in a religious household". He describes his mother, raised by non-religious parents (whom Obama has specified elsewhere as "non-practicing Methodists and Baptists") to be detached from religion, yet "in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I have ever known". He describes his father as "raised a Muslim", but a "confirmedatheist" by the time his parents met, and his stepfather as "a man who saw religion as not particularly useful". His spiritual change of heart as an adult and hiscoming to believe in Christianity is a major part of his autobiographyDreams from My Father. Obama has stated that he "felt a beckoning of the spirit" at this time. He has also said that his political/ethical beliefs are "guided by his Christian faith" including belief "in the power of prayer."[29]
Although Obama is a Christian, some July 2008 polls showed that some Americans incorrectly believed that he is Muslim or was raised Muslim (12% and 26%, respectively, inPew[30] andNewsweek[31] polls). Citing the latter poll by CNN'sLarry King, Obama responded, "...I wasn't raised in a Muslim home," and he said that advancement of the misconception insultedMuslim Americans.[32]
Much of the speculations and allegations began withchain e-mails of unknown origin during Obama's presidential campaign.[29]The Obama Nation, a book (published August 1, 2008) byJerome Corsi, openly speculated that Obama had concealed a religious affiliation with Islam. His book opens with a quote byAndy Martin, whoThe Nation,[33]The Washington Post,[34] andThe New York Times[35] have identified as the primary source for the allegations that Obama is concealing a Muslim faith. Speculation about Obama's Muslim heritage has been widely denounced in the news media by both political supporters and political opponents (such asDavid Freddoso in his bookThe Case Against Barack Obama) of Obama.
In July 2002, 40-year-old state Sen. Barack Obama embarked on a two-year campaign for 41-year-old RepublicanPeter Fitzgerald's U.S. Senate seat,[36] against a large field of better known and wealthier opponents in the most expensive Senate primary in U.S. history.[37] In March 2004, Obama won an unexpected landslide in the Illinois primary election for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate—which overnight made him a rising star within the national Democratic Party, started speculation about a presidential future, and led to the reissue of his memoir,Dreams from My Father.[38]
Late June 2004, after the withdrawal of his GOP opponent, 44-year-oldJack Ryan,[39] found the 42-year-old Obama "assessing his circumstances—the sudden elevation to political superstardom, the cascade of campaign cash, and the favorable, almost fawning, attention", which soon yielded an invitation to deliver the keynote address at the2004 Democratic National Convention.[40][41][42] By the eve of the July 2004 Democratic National Convention, Terence Samuel'sU.S. News & World Report article "A shining star named Obama. How a most unlikely politician became a darling of the Democrats" reported that "what was once a long-shot campaign by an obscure state senator with a funny name ... ha[d] come to resemble a runaway freight train,"[40] with Obama, the lead guest onMeet the Press, being asked byTim Russert about comments in Ryan Lizza'sThe Atlantic article "The Natural. Why is Barack Obama generating more excitement among Democrats than John Kerry?"[43][44]
In contrast, Eli Saslow's August 2008Washington Post article "The 17 Minutes That Launched a Political Star" asserted that "Obama approached the lectern in Boston a virtual nobody, a representative for 600,000 constituents in Illinois' 13th District. He exited having set the course for an unprecedented political ascent."[45][46] According to Saslow, "In the 40 hours before his Tuesday night speech, Obama granted more than 15 interviews, including several broadcast live on television. To Obama and his advisers, it seemed that many of the questions hinted at the same issue: Who, exactly, are you? And why, exactly, are you delivering a keynote speech?"[45] Although not broadcast byABC,CBS, orNBC, over nine million viewers saw Obama's 2004 DNC keynote address.[47] Saslow said that it "crafted a first impression that still stands at the foundation of his presidential campaign."[45] Saslow said that "Obama possessed the vision, he said, of 'not a black America and a white America and a Latino America and an Asian America—there is a United States of America.'"[45]
In a December 2006Wall Street Journal editorial headlined "The Man from Nowhere,"Ronald Reagan speech writer andFox News punditPeggy Noonan advised "establishment" commentators to avoid becoming too quickly excited about Obama's still-early political career.[48][49] Echoing theinaugural address of John F. Kennedy, Obama acknowledged his youthful image, saying in an October 2007 campaign speech, "I wouldn't be here if, time and again, the torch had not been passed to a new generation."[50]
During the2008 election season, Barack Obama's experience was a topic of contention. Both Democratic and Republican politicians criticized his experience in regard to whether he was ready to be President of the United States. After his nomination the criticism was mostly from Republican politicians; many Democratic politicians stated that they believed that Obama was ready.[51] Criticism was almost exclusively centered on his readiness for the position of commander in chief of the armed forces.Hillary Clinton often stated during her unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic nomination that Obama would not be a candidate who's ready on "Day One".[52] After conceding the race for the nomination, she endorsed Obama. While campaigning for president,Joe Biden said that he believed Obama was not yet ready for the job of president, but that eventually he would be ready. Biden, who went on to serve as Obama's vice president, has since revised his position on Obama's readiness, but his quotes from the 2008 Democratic Debates were used in campaign ads forJohn McCain.[53]
A point of contrast between Obama and his 2008 opponentJohn McCain was Obama's perceivedcalm and eventemperament, which was praised byformer presidential candidateSenatorChris Dodd[54] as well as numerous media sources as "cool" and "unflappable".[55][56][57][58][59] Speaking in support of Obama in March 2008, retired Air Force Chief of Staff GeneralTony McPeak referred to him as "no drama Obama" and "no shock Barack".[60] These characterizations were picked up and continued to be used months later by other commentators such asAndrew Sullivan[61] andArianna Huffington.[62] Indeed, perceptions of such temperament are not without drawback, as Obama has been accused many times of not being emotional or angry enough to satisfy the public.[63]
Obama is an avid golf enthusiast, being rated byGolf Digest as being on par with former PresidentBill Clinton,[64] although lower than his predecessorGeorge W. Bush.[65][66] This follows a continuation of Presidents who play golf.[67] In October 2009, Obama played his first game with the Director of the Domestic Policy Council for his administration,Melody Barnes.[68] By June 2012, Obama played his 100th round of golf as president;[69] however, this falls short of the 1,200 rounds played by PresidentWoodrow Wilson, and the 800 rounds played by PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower.[70] In one instance Obama missedthe funeral of Polish PresidentLech Kaczynski;[71] however, a reason given for missing the event wasvolcanic ash.[72] His golfing has drawn criticism;[73][74] however, Obama says that playing golf is one of the few times "where you almost feel normal".[75]
President Obama appeared on Vanity Fair's 'best-dressed' list.[76] NBC New York named Obama one of the ten best-dressed US Presidents.[77] He was listed as one of the fifty best-dressed people over 50 years old by theGuardian in March 2013.[78]
On August 28, 2014, Obamawore a tan suit during a press conference about the United States' plan regardingISIS.[79] This sparked controversy over the next few days, as people supported[80][81] or opposed[82] Obama's decision to wear the suit. Several news outlets pointed out that other presidents, likeBill Clinton andRonald Reagan, had also worn tan suits in the past.[79][83] Still others dismissed the controversy as being trivial and overshadowing the greater implications of the press conference.[84]
Obama wonBest Spoken Word AlbumGrammy Awards for abridgedaudiobook versions ofDreams from My Father in February 2006 and forThe Audacity of Hope in February 2008.[85] Hisconcession speech after the New Hampshire primary was set to music by independent artists as the music video "Yes We Can", which was viewed ten million times on YouTube in its first month[86] and received aDaytime Emmy Award.[87] In December 2008 and in 2012,Time magazine named Obama as itsPerson of the Year.[88] The 2008 awarding was for his historic candidacy and election, whichTime described as "the steady march of seemingly impossible accomplishments."[89] On May 25, 2011, Obama became the first president of the United States to address both houses of theUK Parliament inWestminster Hall, London. This was only the fifth occurrence since the start of the 20th century of a head of state's being extended this invitation, followingCharles de Gaulle in 1960,Nelson Mandela in 1996,Queen Elizabeth II in 2002 andPope Benedict XVI in 2010.[90][91]
On October 9, 2009, theNorwegian Nobel Committee announced that Obama had won the2009 Nobel Peace Prize "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."[92] Obama accepted this award inOslo, Norway on December 10, 2009, with "deep gratitude and great humility."[93] He became the fourth U.S. president to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and the third to become a Nobel laureate while in office.[94] The award drew a mixture of praise and criticism from world leaders and media figures.[95][96][97][98] Obama's peace prize was called a "stunning surprise" byThe New York Times,[99] and someneoconservatives praised his speech for what they viewed as pro-American content.[100][101] In subsequent years, Obama's Nobel Prize was viewed with more skepticism, including from the director of the Nobel Institute,Geir Lundestad, who said that Obama's Peace Prize did not have the desired effect of encouraging the President.[102]
Several stories in the Anglo-American news media state that a prominent part of Obama's political image is a belief that Obama's rhetoric and actions toward political reform are matched with a political savvy that often includes a measure of expediency.[103][104] For example, reporter Ryan Lizza wrote inThe New Yorker, "[Obama] campaigns on reforming a broken political process, yet he has always played politics by the rules as they exist, not as he would like them to exist."[103]
The Economist has stated that "If Mr. Obama really were the miracle-working, aisle-jumping, consensus-seeking new breed of politician his spin-doctors make him out to be, you would expect to see the evidence in these eight years... Obama spent the whole period without any visible sign of rocking the Democratic boat."[104] After Obama decided not to takepublic financing during his 2008 campaign,USA Todayeditorialized that "Real reformers don't do it just when it's convenient." TheAssociated Press has stated in March 2009, that "In office two months, he has backpedaled on an array of issues, gingerly shifting positions as circumstances dictate while ducking for political cover to avoid undercutting his credibility and authority."[105]
OpponentsClinton andMcCain sharply criticized and accused Obama ofelitism after he said ofsmall-town Pennsylvanians, "And it's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."[106] WriterVictor Davis Hanson in theNational Review also commented on these remarks, and inventoried Obama's elite credentials, vacation choices, fashion sense, and speech topics, including the cost of college tuition to conclude that Obama and his "agenda" were "yuppie to the core."[107]
Obama stated that he was raised by a single mother, in a family that had little money, and he benefited from scholarships to get his education.[108]
Another allegation of elitism came fromJesse Jackson, who criticized Obama in 2007 for "acting like he's white", in response to theJena 6 beating case. The newspaper later reported that Jackson said he did not remember saying Obama was "acting like he's white", but he continued to chastise the Illinois Democrat as well as the other presidential candidates for not bringing more attention to this issue.[109] Additionally, on July 6, 2008, during an interview withFox News, a microphone picked up Jackson whispering to fellow guest Dr.Reed Tuckson,[110] "See, Barack's been, ahh, talking down to black people on this faith-based... I want to cut his nuts out."[111] Jackson was expressing his disappointment in Obama'sFather's Day speech chastisement of black fathers.[112] Following his Fox News interview, Jackson apologized and reiterated his support for Obama.[111] In June 2008,Ralph Nader made a similar "acting white" claim when he accused Obama of trying to "talk white" and appealing towhite guilt in the election campaign.[113]
During the 2008 election, Obama garnered support from someRepublicans andconservatives. Some commentators have labeled Republicans who supported Obama as "Obama Republicans" or "Obamacans".[114]Gallup has conducted weekly polls of registered voters to measure support amongst the candidates. A poll conducted between October 13 and 19, 2008, showed 5% support for Barack Obama from Conservative Republicans, and 15% support from Moderate/Liberal Republicans. Obama's support among Conservative Republicans peaked at 7% the week of June 16–22, 2008, and among Liberal/Moderate Republicans peaked at 21% the week of July 21–27, 2008.[115]
President Obama is present on various social media platforms, includingFacebook,[116]Twitter[117][118] andInstagram.[119] All of his accounts, except one of his Twitter accounts, are run by the staff ofOrganizing for Action, anonprofitcommunity organizing project that advocates for Obama's agenda.
On August 29, 2012, Obama held anask me anything session onReddit,[120] where he took the users' questions, political and otherwise, for half an hour. On January 22, 2015, he participated in the stream-liveYouTube interview[121] with the video bloggersBethany Mota,GloZell andHank Green, who asked him questions regarding the role of theU.S. government in the lives of young Americans. Later that year in February, President Obama talked toBuzzFeed'seditor-in-chiefBen Smith about his legacy,[122] and starred in the site's short video entitled "Things Everybody Does But Doesn't Talk About" whose aim was to encourage the youth to sign up forObamaCare. As of January 15, 2016, the video was viewed more than 60 million times.[123] Increased activity on social media is said to be a part of theWhite House's strategy to reach themillennial generation of Americans, who "typically don't watch or read traditional media".[124]
Obama set a newGuinness World Record when he joined Twitter with the @POTUS handle on May 18, 2015, and accumulated 1 million followers in four hours and fifty-two minutes, beating the previous record of 23 hours and 22 minutes by actorRobert Downey, Jr. Obama's record was later broken byCaitlyn Jenner, who accomplished this in four hours and three minutes.[125][126][127] Unlike other social media accounts, the @POTUS account was run exclusively by Obama for the remaining duration of his presidency.[128]
In 2010, data from the Pew Global Attitudes Project revealed that President Obama was more popular in many other nations than he was in the United States. The Pew data also showed that in twenty nations surveyed in 2007 and 2010, favorable views of the United States rose substantially and that confidence in the American president rose dramatically, although in a subset of nations with whom the United States had major foreign policy challenges and differences, attitudes toward the United States remained wary and skeptical.[129]
All 22 countries covered in a September 2008BBC poll said they would prefer to see Senator Obama elected president ahead ofJohn McCain.[130] In 17 of the 22 nations, people expected relations between the United States and the rest of the world to improve if Senator Obama won.[130] More than 22,000 people were questioned byGlobeScan in countries ranging from Canada to India and across Africa, Europe and South America.[130] The margin in favor of Senator Obama ranged from 9% in India to 82% inKenya (location of Obama's paternal ancestry), while an average of 49% across the 22 countries preferred Senator Obama compared with 12% preferring Senator McCain.[130] Some four in ten did not express a view.[130]
A similar global poll was held byReader's Digest, with respondents "overwhelmingly" in favor of Obama from all 17 countries, including Mexico, the United Kingdom, Finland, Sweden, Indonesia and Spain. Russia gave Obama the lowest score among the countries polled, but still preferred Obama over McCain with a 35% margin.[131] In Australia, a poll conducted in August 2008 found that over 75% of Australians wanted Obama to win the presidential election, while only 10% showed support for McCain.[132][133]
Similar results were found in New Zealand (65% in favor of Obama, 11% in favor of McCain),[134] Japan (49% in favor of Obama, 13% in favor of McCain),[135] France (65% in favor of Obama, 8% in favor of McCain), Italy (70% in favor of Obama, 15% in favor of McCain), Germany (67% in favor of Obama, 6% in favor of McCain) and the Netherlands (90% in favor of Obama, 6% in favor of McCain).[136] The only country surveyed (other than the U.S.) where McCain's popularity rivaled Obama's wasJordan, where 22% were in favor of Obama and 23% in favor of McCain.[137] Obama scored higher approval ratings in all 70 countries covered in an October 2008Gallup poll, with the most favorable scores coming from Asian and European countries.[138]
In 2007,Christoph von Marschall wrote a book entitledBarack Obama – Der schwarze Kennedy. The literal translation of its German title is "Barack Obama. The Black Kennedy".[139] His book was a best seller in Germany, where other commentators had also made comparisons between the two politicians.[140]
In addition to this, Obama has established close relationships with prominent foreign politicians and elected officials even before his presidential candidacy, notably withTony Blair, whom he met in London in 2005, withNicolas Sarkozy, who visited him inWashington in 2006,[141]Kevin Rudd,[142] who spoke with Obama by telephone from Washington, D.C., in 2008 (while Obama was campaigning elsewhere), as well as withWalter Veltroni, who was welcomed in Obama's Senate office in Washington in 2005[143][144] and later wrote the introduction to Obama'sThe Audacity of Hope Italian edition.
Gallup polls have shown that approval ratings of U.S. leadership in other countries have significantly increased since Obama took office, including a 57 percent increase in Ireland, a 41 percent increase in the United Kingdom and a 46 percent increase in Spain.[145][146]
The results of aBBC World Service poll conducted between November 2009 and February 2010 suggest a sharp, positive, increase in the way citizens of polled countries around the world view the United States. For the first time since theIraq War in 2003, more people around the world view the United States more positively than negatively. Director of theProgram on International Policy Attitudes Steven Kull, who partnered in directing the poll, stated "after a year, it appears the 'Obama effect' is real", referring to the fact that Obama had been in office around one year at the time the polls were taken.[147]
In response to a petition and a Facebook group,Indonesian authorities are debating whether to relocate abronze statue inJakarta depicting Obama as a smiling 10-year-old child. The petitioners are asking that the statue be relocated to the elementary school Obama had attended as a child while living in Menteng for four years.[148]
The West Wing writer and producerEli Attie based the character ofMatt Santos (portrayed byJimmy Smits) on Obama. At the time the politician was only a state senator. Obama later met Smits.[149]Will Smith expressed interest in portraying Obama in a film, citing his physical resemblance—particularly their ears—to the President,[150] something with which Obama concurred while discussing the possibility with Smith.[151] A musical comedy play about Obama's presidential campaign,Obama On My Mind, opened in London in 2009.[152] ActorChristopher B. Duncan portrayed Obama in 2008 onThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno and in the 2010Bollywood filmMy Name Is Khan.[153][154]
Obama has been the subject of variousimpersonators, includingReggie Brown[citation needed] andIman Crosson.[155] Obama has been impersonated on the sketch showSaturday Night Live more than 60 times between 2008 and 2016, where he was parodied by firstFred Armisen and laterJay Pharoah.[156][157][158] He did a cameo appearance on the show in 2007, when he was running for president.[159]
Obama became a popular subject for artists during his presidential campaign.Shepard Fairey designedposters captioned "Hope".Alex Ross painted a portrait of Obama asSuperman, tearing open his suit to reveal a shirt with an 'O'-symbol, while inEntertainment Weekly he was depicted asSpider-Man oppositeJohn McCain'sBatman.[160] The association of Obama with Superman was picked up by the media and by the candidate himself: at the 2008Al Smith Dinner, Obama joked, "Contrary to the rumors you have heard, I was not born in a manger. I was actually born onKrypton and sent here by my father,Jor-El, to save the planet Earth."[161] AndThe Washington Post titled two essays about the impact of Obama's election byDesmond Tutu andTa-Nehisi Coates "The Man of Tomorrow", referencing afrequent sobriquet of Superman.[162] He appeared in the documentary political film directed by Leslie CardeAmerica Betrayed (2008).[163]
Marvel Comics released a specialInauguration Day comic ofThe Amazing Spider-Man with a picture portraying Barack Obama with Spider-Man hanging upside down behind him snapping his picture, quipping, "Hey, if you get to be on my cover, can I be on the dollar bill?"[164][165] The comic also featuring a brief story where theChameleon attempts to pose as Obama in order to be sworn in in his place, Obama subsequently shaking Spider-Man's hand in thanks and admitting that he's always been a fan despite the wall-crawler's negative public image.[166] Forright of publicity reasons, Marvel subsequently denied depictions of Obama as acting president in theMarvel Universe were intended to be him, and so the figure of the President always appears in shadows or from behind.[167] Obama has been portrayed in other comic books, in the more straightforwardBarack Obama: The Road to the White House byIDW (and a couple of related comics),[168] but also asBarack the Barbarian and inDrafted: One Hundred Days byDevil's Due Publishing,[169] as a zombie hunter inAntarctic Press'President Evil[170] and with the zombie killerAsh Williams inDynamite'sArmy of Darkness: Ash Saves Obama.[171]
The controversialObama "Joker" poster depicts Obama as comic book supervillain,The Joker, based on the portrayal byHeath Ledger inThe Dark Knight.[172] The image, which had been described as "shocking" and racist, led to much surprise as the identity of its creator, 20-year-old Palestinian American university student Firas Alkhateeb, was revealed.[173] The digitally manipulated photograph has been described as the "most infamous anti–Obama image", and is often used by conservative protesters and those associated with theTea Party movement.[173][174]
Boris Johnson compared Obama toFelix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) inQuantum of Solace; the African-American CIA ally ofJames Bond has a history of coming to Bond's assistance whenever needed.[175]
Obama appears in theDoctor Who special "The End of Time". In the first episode, Obama, as well as almost everyone else in the world, become humanitydoppelgängers ofthe Master (John Simm). In the second episode, the Lord President of the Time Lords uses a gauntlet to undo the Master's control over Earth's population, restoring Obama and the rest of the population to normal. The actor who portrayed Obama in both episodes is uncredited.
Lovell Adams-Gray portrayed a college-aged Obama in theLegends of Tomorrow episode "Guest Starring John Noble" in 2018, nearly getting killed by a time-travelingtelepathic gorilla (attempting to break history and free a time demon) before sitting down for a heart-to-heart (described as "someone who can think straight when the whole world has gone crazy") to a reformed assassin turned time ship captain in personal crisis.
Obama is referenced in American rapperLil B's 2012 mixtape,Obama Basedgod.[176]
Obama, or the likeness of him, also appears in many Japaneseanime includingYo-kai Watch,Mr. Osomatsu,Gintama,Yatterman Night,Baki Hanma,Digimon Fusion andDigimon Universe: App Monsters.[177]
Tere Bin Laden: Dead or Alive, a 2016 Indian film directed byAbhishek Sharma depicts the US governmentfaking the death of Osama bin Laden. Obama lookalikeIman Crosson portrays him in the film.[178]
The number of physical assaults against Muslims in the United States reached 9/11-era levels last year, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of new hate crimes statistics from the FBI. There were 91 reported aggravated or simple assaults motivated by anti-Muslim bias in 2015, just two shy of the 93 reported in 2001.
Springfield, Ill. – [on June 26] The day after the oddest of sex scandals drove his GOP opponent out of the race for the U.S. Senate, Barack Obama sat in his campaign office here, assessing his circumstances—the sudden elevation to political superstardom, the cascade of campaign cash, and the favorable, almost fawning, attention that has now yielded a prized invitation to deliver the keynote address at this week's Democratic National Convention.
But for the moment, what was once a long-shot campaign by an obscure state senator with a funny name—"Some people call me Alabama," he confides—has come to resemble a runaway freight train.
For all the talk of the past, the keynote speaker tonight was only 30 years old: Representative Harold Ford Jr., from Mr. Gore's home state of Tennessee. Democratic officials said Mr. Ford was a perfect cap for the evening not only because of his youth, and because he is an African American who represents diversity, but also because he is a moderate.
Yet Mr. Ford did not get the usual exposure of the top-billed speaker. He did not take the stage until nearly 11 p.m. E.D.T., when the major networks ended their coverage.
For 17 minutes on July 27, 2004, the little-known state legislator from Illinois would stand alone in front of a prime-time television audience, 15,000 media members and the Democratic Party elite.
The first impression Obama crafted that night still forms the basis of his presidential campaign.
Obama approached the lectern in Boston a virtual nobody, a representative for 600,000 constituents in Illinois' 13th District. He exited having set the course for an unprecedented political ascent, with the fortified self-confidence that he could deliver when it mattered most.
In the 40 hours before his Tuesday night speech, Obama granted more than 15 interviews, including several broadcast live on television. To Obama and his advisers, it seemed that many of the questions hinted at the same issue: Who, exactly, are you? And why, exactly, are you delivering a keynote speech?
Over the next 15 minutes, Obama crafted a first impression that still stands at the foundation of his presidential campaign.
Obama possessed the vision, he said, of "not a black America and a white America and a Latino America and an Asian America—there is a United States of America." By the time he sped to his climax—"Out of this long political darkness a brighter day will come"—the crowd stood, transfixed.
"I was feeling like a proud older brother, and I had tears coming out of my eyes when he finished," [Terry] Link [an Illinois state senator who is a close friend of Obama's] said. "Wanting to be a tough guy, I was wiping tears on the corner of my suit coat and trying to clean up. Then I turn around and see there's not a dry eye in the whole place. He got to everybody. I firmly believe if they put his name on the nomination that night ahead of Kerry, Barack would have won.
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