I honestly dislike Obama for not being proud of his biracial identity. I have 2 biracial children and they have many biracial cousins. They hold a special place-they bridge the gap. I teach them to be proud of all of who they are, all of who they are. I have to work at this, b/c my ex-husband disappeared from their lives and my husband (who adopted them) is white. We took them on vacation to show them "Gullah" culture, because that is part of where they come from.
I get frustrated with the way Obama is referred to as "African-American." It is inaccurate and I think he uses it to galvanize the "black" vote and to get the white-guilt votes. I find this racist and offensive.
I think we should elect the candidate, not his ethnic identity, but I am turned off by people who feel they have to be one or the other (like Halle Berry). I think it is especially wrong b/c he was raised in large part by his white grandparents, so it is their values that influenced him.
I think Tiger Woods handled the subject best in refusing to deny any part of him. Yes, he drew a lot of criticism from the African-American community, but to dislike him for being proud of his ethnic heritage is rather ironic.
Anyway, Obama COULD be an inspiration to children like mine but instead he plays up one side of himself to get more votes, thus acting like biracial people are not legitimate and have something to be ashamed of.