this post was submitted on 10 Oct 2025
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I still remember how much hay was made from him being "The first Afro-American President": the Democrats sold the hell out of him being Black as a good thing (not least to get more votes for him from Black Communities) whilst the Republicans sold the hell out of him being Black as a bad thing.
His race kept getting dug up (and, as you see here, still is) and IMHO it together with his truly exceptional gift of the gab obscured the actual character of the man as shown by his actions which were often pretty negative and had widespread negative consequences some of which still resonate today.
In many ways he's a symbol of American politics highly divisive and mainly performative approach to discrimination, IMHO.