Barack was an extremely plausible candidate. An improbable candidate? Sure! How many other Luo, Hawaiian-born prep-school attendees with Indonesian stepfathers even exist? But he was:
Barack was an extremely plausible candidate. An improbable candidate? Sure! How many other Luo, Hawaiian-born prep-school attendees with Indonesian stepfathers even exist? But he was:
* Tall
* Dark
* Handsome
* Black
* High IQ
* Harvard graduate, magna cum laude
* Senator
* No big public scandal with his personal life
The moment he ran, the only question was whether he picked too early, not whether he'd be PotUS. He had as many variables working in his favor, in his era, to be president as any candidate we've had. So much so the media was happy to confine any examination of the more sordid parts of his politics to right-wing safespaces, like the fact that his parents and his most important intellectual mentor legitimately were reactionary socialists who hated the United States and wanted the Soviets to win the Cold War. (Exactly what Obama himself believes is unclear, as he's long known many of his views are unpopular and talks and writes in a way as to maintain ambiguity, as well as also outright lying about his beliefs, like when he pretended to be against gay marriage to win elections, which worked so well it made him senator and president.)
Barack was an extremely plausible candidate. An improbable candidate? Sure! How many other Luo, Hawaiian-born prep-school attendees with Indonesian stepfathers even exist? But he was:
* Tall
* Dark
* Handsome
* Black
* High IQ
* Harvard graduate, magna cum laude
* Senator
* No big public scandal with his personal life
The moment he ran, the only question was whether he picked too early, not whether he'd be PotUS. He had as many variables working in his favor, in his era, to be president as any candidate we've had. So much so the media was happy to confine any examination of the more sordid parts of his politics to right-wing safespaces, like the fact that his parents and his most important intellectual mentor legitimately were reactionary socialists who hated the United States and wanted the Soviets to win the Cold War. (Exactly what Obama himself believes is unclear, as he's long known many of his views are unpopular and talks and writes in a way as to maintain ambiguity, as well as also outright lying about his beliefs, like when he pretended to be against gay marriage to win elections, which worked so well it made him senator and president.)