News articles follow positions on issues

See below for Obama's positions on:
- Affirmative Action and Quotas
- Asian Pacific Americans the candidate has hired, appointed
or supported for election
- Employment discrimination, glass ceilings
- Making English the official language of the U.S.
- Foreign Policy toward China, Taiwan, India, Japan, Korea, Vietnam .   Missile defense system to protect Japan , Taiwan , or South Korea
- Hate Crimes.  Legislation increasing penalties for hate crimes.
- Immigration
- Voting rights and providing ballots in different languages. 

Affirmative Action and Quotas

Bans on affirmative action in college admissions benefit Asian Americans.  1/30/08 The Chronicle of Higher Education: ""Bans on Affirmative Action Help
Asian Americans, Not Whites, Report Says".

6/10/08 USA Today: Obama campaign spokesperson Candice Toliver: "Senator Obama believes in a country in which opportunity is available to all Americans, regardless of race, gender or economic status. That's why he opposes these ballot initiatives, which would roll back opportunity for millions of Americans and cripple efforts to break down historic barriers to the progress of qualified women and minorities."  She was referring to state ballot initiatives which would ban public agencies and universities from discriminating against or giving preference to any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin.

When Michigan proposed Proposition 2 which outlawed affirmative action based on ethnicity, race or gender in public institutions, Obama taped an ad denouncing Proposition 2 and endorsed affirmative action for minorities and women.

4/16/08 Pennsylvania debate.  Transcript from The Morning Call.  http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-debate-transcript-041708,0,2860758.story?page=20
    STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Obama, last May we talked about affirmative action, and you said at the time that affluent African- Americans, like your daughters, should probably be treated as pretty advantaged when they apply to college and that poor, white children, kids, should get special consideration, affirmative action.
    So as president, how specifically would you recommend changing affirmative action policies so that affluent African-Americans are not given advantages and poor, less affluent whites are?
    OBAMA: Well, I think that the basic principle that should guide discussions not just of affirmative action, but how we are admitting young people to college generally, is how do we make sure that we're providing ladders of opportunity for people? How do we make sure that every child in America has a decent shot in pursuing their dreams?
    And race is still a factor in our society. And I think that for universities and other institutions to say, "You know, we're going to take into account the hardships that somebody has experienced because they're black or Latino or because they're a woman"...
    STEPHANOPOULOS: Even if they're wealthy?
    OBAMA: ... I think that's something that they can take into account, but it can only be in the context of looking at the whole situation of the young person.
    So if they look at my child, and they say, "You know, Malia and Sasha, they've had a pretty good deal," then that shouldn't be factored in.
    On the other hand, if there's a young white person, who has been working hard, struggling, and has overcome great odds, that's something that should be taken into account.
    So I still believe in affirmative action as a means of overcoming both historic and potentially current discrimination, but I think that it can't be a quota system and it can't be something that is simply applied without looking at the whole person, whether that person is black, or white, or Hispanic, male or female.
    What we want to do is make sure that people who've been locked out of opportunity are going to be able to walk through those doors of opportunity in the future.
 
Asian Pacific Americans the candidate has hired, appointed or supported for election

Chris Lu, former Legislative Director of Obama's senate office, now working on  the Obama campaign

3/10/08 Associated Press: When Aurora Abella-Austriaco (D), a Filipino-American, ran for Trustee of the Maine Township (Illinois) three years ago, Senator Barack Obama personally campaigned for her.

Employment discrimination, glass ceilings

6/16/08 www.barackobama.com/issues/civilrights: Obama will work to overturn the Supreme Court's recent ruling that curtails racial minorities' and women's ability to challenge pay discrimination. Obama will also pass the Fair Pay Act to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

Making English the official language of the U.S.

Voted No
To amend title 4 United States Code, to declare English as the national language of the United States and to promote the patriotic integration of prospective US citizens.
May 18, 2006, vote 131, Senate Amendment 4064 to S. 2611


Foreign Policy.  Like Americans of African, Cuban, Greek, Irish, Italian, Jewish, Mexican, and Polish descent, many APA's are interested in American foreign policy toward the country of their ancestors.

U.S. policy toward China and Taiwan

6/16/08: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/foreignpolicy: Seek New Partnerships in Asia: Obama will forge a more effective framework in Asia that goes beyond bilateral agreements, occasional summits, and ad hoc arrangements, such as the six-party talks on North Korea . He will maintain strong ties with allies like Japan, South Korea and Australia; work to build an infrastructure with countries in East Asia that can promote stability and prosperity; and work to ensure that China plays by international rules.

7/5/07 Financial Times: Obama co-sponsored legislation that would levy punitive duties on Chinese goods to cajole Beijing into revaluing its currency.  In a separate letter sent recently to Hank Paulson, US Treasury secretary, Mr. Obama warned that the “administration’s refusal to take strong action against China’s currency manipulation will also make it more difficult to obtain congressional approval” for free trade agreements.

4/27/07 New York Times: Democratic debate: We also have to look east, because increasingly the center of gravity in this world is shifting to Asia . Japan has been an outstanding ally of ours for many years, but obviously China is rising, and it’s not going away. They’re neither our enemy nor our friend. They’re competitors. But we have to make sure that we have enough military-to-military contact and forge enough of a relationship with them that we can stabilize the region. That’s something I’d like to do as president.

4/23/07 Remarks to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs: In Asia, the emergence of an economically vibrant, more politically active China offers new opportunities for prosperity and cooperation, but also poses new challenges for the United States and our partners in the region. It is time for the United States to take a more active role here – to build on our strong bilateral relations and informal arrangements like the Six Party talks. As President, I intend to forge a more effective regional framework in Asia that will promote stability, prosperity and help us confront common transnational threats such as tracking down terrorists and responding to global health problems like avian flu.

4/23/07 Remarks to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs: Such steps are not just environmental priorities, they are critical to our security.  America must take decisive action in order to more plausibly demand the same effort from others.  We should push for binding and enforceable commitments to reduce emissions by the nations which pollute the most – the United States , the European Union, Russia , China , and India together account for nearly two-thirds of current emissions.  And we should help ensure that growth in developing countries is fueled by low-carbon energy – the market for which could grow to $500 billion by 2050 and spur the next wave of American entrepreneurship.

U.S. policy toward India

6/16/08: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/foreignpolicy: Seek New Partnerships in Asia: Obama will forge a more effective framework in Asia that goes beyond bilateral agreements, occasional summits, and ad hoc arrangements, such as the six-party talks on North Korea . He will maintain strong ties with allies like Japan, South Korea and Australia; work to build an infrastructure with countries in East Asia that can promote stability and prosperity; and work to ensure that China plays by international rules.

4/23/07 Remarks to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs: Such steps are not just environmental priorities, they are critical to our security.  America must take decisive action in order to more plausibly demand the same effort from others.  We should push for binding and enforceable commitments to reduce emissions by the nations which pollute the most – the United States , the European Union, Russia , China , and India together account for nearly two-thirds of current emissions.  And we should help ensure that growth in developing countries is fueled by low-carbon energy – the market for which could grow to $500 billion by 2050 and spur the next wave of American entrepreneurship.

U.S. policy toward Japan

6/16/08: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/foreignpolicy: Seek New Partnerships in Asia: Obama will forge a more effective framework in Asia that goes beyond bilateral agreements, occasional summits, and ad hoc arrangements, such as the six-party talks on North Korea . He will maintain strong ties with allies like Japan, South Korea and Australia; work to build an infrastructure with countries in East Asia that can promote stability and prosperity; and work to ensure that China plays by international rules.

4/27/07 New York Times: Democratic debate: We also have to look east, because increasingly the center of gravity in this world is shifting to Asia . Japan has been an outstanding ally of ours for many years, but obviously China is rising, and it’s not going away. They’re neither our enemy nor our friend. They’re competitors. But we have to make sure that we have enough military-to-military contact and forge enough of a relationship with them that we can stabilize the region. That’s something I’d like to do as president.

U.S. policy toward Korea

6/16/08: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/foreignpolicy: Seek New Strengthen the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty: Obama will crack down on nuclear proliferation by strengthening the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty so that countries like North Korea and Iran that break the rules will automatically face strong international sanctions.

6/16/08: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/foreignpolicy: Seek New Partnerships in Asia: Obama will forge a more effective framework in Asia that goes beyond bilateral agreements, occasional summits, and ad hoc arrangements, such as the six-party talks on North Korea . He will maintain strong ties with allies like Japan, South Korea and Australia; work to build an infrastructure with countries in East Asia that can promote stability and prosperity; and work to ensure that China plays by international rules.

6/4/08 The Korea Times: “Obama, McCain Differ on Korea Policy,”  
By Michael Ha  
    South Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement  
Obama has said the current Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) should not be ratified and has suggested that the deal be renegotiated. He has said the accord does not do enough to address concerns of American autoworkers. Organized labor unions, including the autoworkers' unions, are some of the biggest supporters of the Democratic Party.  
    In an open letter to U.S. President George W. Bush last month, Obama said there would be ``a major fight over a free trade agreement with South Korea'' if President Bush sends the trade agreement to the U.S. Congress.  
    ``Senator Obama does not support the South Korea free trade agreement in its current form,'' according to his campaign platform. ``He is also troubled that the Bush Administration has not done more to help American workers who are losing their jobs as a result of the changing world economy.''  
    North Korean Conundrum  
    Obama said he would seek a new framework for partnerships in Asia that move beyond ad hoc meetings such as the current six-party talks. ``Obama will forge a more effective framework in Asia that goes beyond bilateral agreements, occasional summits, and ad hoc arrangements, such as the six-party talks on North Korea,'' according to his Web site.  
    ``Obama will maintain strong ties with allies like Japan, South Korea and Australia; work to build an infrastructure with countries in East Asia that can promote stability and prosperity; and work to ensure that China plays by international rules.''  
    He also said he would crack down on nuclear proliferation by strengthening the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty so that countries like North Korea that break the rules will ``automatically face strong international sanctions.''  
    Obama has said during his campaign speeches that he may be willing to sit down face-to-face with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il if that's what it takes to resolve the continuing nuclear tension on the Korean peninsula.  
    Alliance  
    Obama has acknowledged the critical role the South Korea-U.S. alliance has played during the Cold War and beyond. But he said the alliance has been tested in recent years. ``The alliance has been a remarkably strong and successful one. Forged in blood during the Korean War more than a half-century ago, the alliance has sustained itself through the crucible of the Cold War and remains central to U.S. security policy in East Asia,'' he has said, according to the U.S. Congressional Web site.  
    ``Nonetheless, I do not think it is an overstatement to say that the U.S.-Korea relationship has been adrift in recent years.''

5/26/08 Bloomberg.com: “Obama's Korea Trade Deal Objection Is Political, Minister Says,”
By Heejin Koo  
    Illinois Senator Barack Obama's objection to a trade agreement with South Korea is ``politically motivated,'' the Asian nation's trade minister said.  
    ``Trade becomes an unpopular topic once it is tied up in a political agenda,'' Kim Jong Hoon said on KBS-1 Radio.  
    Obama, the leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, said in a May 22 letter to President George W. Bush that pushing for the agreement is ``misguided.'' Obama has criticized such accords in his campaign, saying he would renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico .  
    The U.S.-South Korea trade accord, the biggest for the U.S. since Nafta in 1994, was signed last June. The Bush administration still hasn't submitted the proposal to Congress. Lawmakers such as Senate Finance Committee Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, say they won't consider it until South Korea drops all its restrictions on U.S. beef, which the Asian nation has said it will do.

2/21/08 Wall Street Journal, p. A2: Opposes free trade treaty with South Korea

4/23/07 Remarks to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs: As starting points, the world must prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and work to eliminate North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.  If America does not lead, these two nations could trigger regional arms races that could accelerate nuclear proliferation on a global scale and create dangerous nuclear flashpoints.  In pursuit of this goal, we must never take the military option off the table.  But our first line of offense here must be sustained, direct and aggressive diplomacy.  For North Korea, that means ensuring the full implementation of the recent agreement.  For Iran, it means getting the UN Security Council, Europe, and the Gulf States to join with us in ratcheting up the economic pressure.

U.S. policy toward Vietnam

6/16/08: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/foreignpolicy: Seek New Partnerships in Asia: Obama will forge a more effective framework in Asia that goes beyond bilateral agreements, occasional summits, and ad hoc arrangements, such as the six-party talks on North Korea . He will maintain strong ties with allies like Japan, South Korea and Australia; work to build an infrastructure with countries in East Asia that can promote stability and prosperity; and work to ensure that China plays by international rules.

Missile defense system to protect Japan, Taiwan, or South Korea

7/16/07 press release: Obama Statement on Visit of Polish President Lech Kaczynski
5. Prudently but decisively prepare for emerging threats. “The Bush Administration has been developing plans to deploy interceptors and radar systems in Poland and the Czech Republic as part of a missile defense system designed to protect against the potential threat of Iranian nuclear armed missiles. If we can responsibly deploy missile defenses that would protect us and our allies we should – but only when the system works. We need to make sure any missile defense system would be effective before deployment. The Bush Administration has in the past exaggerated missile defense capabilities and rushed deployments for political purposes. The Bush Administration has also done a poor job of consulting its NATO allies about the deployment of a missile defense system that has major implications for all of them. We must not allow this issue to divide “new Europe” and “old Europe,” as the Bush Administration tried to do over Iraq .”

Hate Crimes.  Legislation increasing penalties for hate crimes.

6/22/08: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/civilrights/#hate-crimes: Obama will strengthen federal hate crimes legislation, expand hate crimes protection by passing the Matthew Shepherd Act, and reinvigorate enforcement at the Department of Justice's Criminal Section.

Immigration

6/22/08: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/immigration/

Plan for Immigration 
    “The time to fix our broken immigration system is now… We need stronger enforcement on the border and at the workplace… But for reform to work, we also must respond to what pulls people to America … Where we can reunite families, we should. Where we can bring in more foreign-born workers with the skills our economy needs, we should”
    — Barack Obama, Statement on U.S. Senate Floor, May 23, 2007

The Problem  
    Undocumented population is exploding: The number of undocumented immigrants in the country has increased more than 40 percent since 2000. Every year, more than a half-million people come illegally or illegally overstay their visas.  
    Immigration bureaucracy is broken: The immigration bureaucracy is broken and overwhelmed, forcing legal immigrants to wait years for applications.  
    Immigration raids are ineffective: Despite a sevenfold increase in recent years, immigration raids only netted 3,600 arrests in 2006 and have placed all the burdens of a broken system onto immigrant families.  
    Barack Obama's Plan  
    Create Secure Borders  
    Obama wants to preserve the integrity of our borders. He supports additional personnel, infrastructure and technology on the border and at our ports of entry.  
    Improve Our Immigration System  
    Obama believes we must fix the dysfunctional immigration bureaucracy and increase the number of legal immigrants to keep families together and meet the demand for jobs that employers cannot fill.  
    Remove Incentives to Enter Illegally  
    Obama will remove incentives to enter the country illegally by cracking down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants.  
    Bring People Out of the Shadows  
    Obama supports a system that allows undocumented immigrants who are in good standing to pay a fine, learn English, and go to the back of the line for the opportunity to become citizens.  
    Work with Mexico  
    Obama believes we need to do more to promote economic development in Mexico to decrease illegal immigration.  
    Barack Obama's Record 
    * Crack Down on Employers: Obama championed a proposal to create a system so employers can verify that their employees are legally eligible to work in the U.S.  
    * Fix the Bureaucracy: Obama joined Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) to introduce the Citizenship Promotion Act to ensure that immigration application fees are both reasonable and fair. Obama also introduced legislation that passed the Senate to improve the speed and accuracy of FBI background checks. 
    * Respect Families: Obama introduced amendments to put greater emphasis on keeping immigrant families together.

3/2/08 Dallas Morning News: “Candidates promote moderation in immigration reform” by Dianne Solis and David McLemore  
    Obama supports an overhaul of immigration laws that would toughen border security and allow a portion of the estimated 12 million people here illegally to gain legal status.  He would not deport all illegal immigrants.  Obama said he has experience on the issue, after helping push a reform bill out of the Senate two years ago that died in the House. He said he would try to help elect more legislators "sympathetic to solving the problem."  
He voted in favor of building a wall along the border with Mexico but said in the Democratic debate in Austin that he wants to re-examine the merits of that.
He recently told reporters he could succeed where Mr. Bush has failed because the Senate would gain more people "who are sympathetic to solving the problem as opposed to using it as a political football." And, he said, he would "use the president's bully pulpit more effectively to explain what our choices are."

Voting rights and providing ballots in different languages. 

6/22/08: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/civilrights
End Deceptive Voting Practices
Obama will sign into law his legislation that establishes harsh penalties for those who have engaged in voter fraud and provides voters who have been misinformed with accurate and full information so they can vote.

www.asianamericansforobama.com

http://apaforobama.com

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/aapihome

www.hawaiiforobama.org

8/3/08 Huffington Post: “Largest Asian-American PAC Endorses Obama
by Natasha Chen
    On Saturday the largest Asian-American political action committee, the 80-20 Initiative, formally endorsed Sen. Obama for president. They decided on the endorsement after a day-long convention and discussion among 33 delegates of various ethnicities, ages and party affiliations. The delegates represent a national, nonpartisan organization of 700,000 supporters.
    80-20's press release did include a caveat at the very end, to say that if Sen. McCain chose Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana as his running mate, the organization would "view it very helpful in winning equal opportunity for Asian-Americans. In that event, this convention may reconvene" to reconsider its endorsement. But since vice presidential candidates are not yet known, and the 80-20 Initiative did not wish to speculate, leaders encouraged members to fully support Barack Obama, including financial donations to the campaign. 
    The PAC came to its decision after a three-hour discussion at the Crowne Plaza in Foster City , Calif. , on the San Francisco peninsula. The debates centered on how effectively Sens. Obama and McCain would address issues of the Pan-Asian American community. The group specifically focused on equal opportunity in the workplace through the enforcement of Executive Order 11246 of 1965, which outlined laws for equal employment opportunity.
    80-20 had sent out questionnaires early in the primary season to all presidential candidates, asking for their written commitment to equal employment opportunities, and to give Asian-American legal professionals equal opportunities to be judges at all levels of the Federal Courts. All the Democratic candidates responded to the questionnaire, but McCain never did.
    "I'm very disappointed that John McCain did not respond to our questionnaire," said Victor Lee, a Republican delegate to the endorsement convention. "He didn't say no, but he didn't say anything." Lee said that as a Republican, it was hard to argue for a McCain endorsement at the convention, when McCain simply ignored the group's questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of six questions, and can be found here.
    The 80-20 Initiative is a national, nonpartisan group dedicated to the issues of Asian Pacific Americans. Saturday's convention followed group bylaws, under which one-third of the delegates must be Democrats, one-third Republicans and one-third Independents. According to the rules, the group may endorse one, both or none of the major party candidates for president.
    The group formed six years ago with the intent of creating a swing voting bloc among Asian Americans. Putting aside political differences to look at this ethnic community's interests as a whole, the goal was for 80 percent of the community to vote for the candidate that the organization would endorse. 
    On Super Tuesday, the Asian American vote produced a 71-to-25 percent victory for Hillary Clinton in California , where Asian Americans make up more than 12 percent of the population. The 80-20 Initiative had endorsed Clinton before the primary, purely due to the candidates' timing. Clinton had responded to their questionnaire in December, while Obama did not respond until four days before Super Tuesday.
    The Obama campaign sent surrogate Ted Lieu, a California assemblyman, to speak at the convention. The campaign also sent a video message from Obama's sister, who is half-Asian. The McCain campaign sent no representative. At the end of the day, all the delegates unified in support, based on what they described as unequivocal commitment from the Obama campaign to better the rights of Asian Americans. 
    Victor Lee said he would tell Republican friends beyond the Asian community to vote for Obama, because he said he'd like to spread the word and get the candidate in office who can deliver on the promise of giving Asian Americans the opportunities they deserve. 
    Lee was not the only Republican delegate feeling disappointed in McCain. Charles Zhang, a Republican from Michigan , said of their endorsement, "I know we'll probably pay more taxes. But the most important thing for Asian Americans is equal opportunity and justice...I hope during the next election, the Republican will do more for the Asian American community."
    The 80-20 Initiative had even lacked the necessary number of Republican delegates to their endorsement convention initially, filling the last four spots only a week before the event. While Republican delegates bemoaned their own party's candidate, Democrats at the convention were expectedly upbeat. But a unified attitude of determination and full support for Obama eclipsed the usual party tensions . 
    "We have to separate the emotions from the 'brain' side of it," said Arthur Cheung, an Independent from Mountain View, Calif. Cheung, among the younger delegates present, had stood up in the rounds of introductions earlier and said, "My name is Arthur Cheung. I don't have kids and I'm not married. But I think the work we did here today will affect the future -- for my kids that I will have."
    When asked whether issues of the pan-Asian community would trump matters of national security, economy or environment, Cheung let his actions speak for themselves. In 2004, when 80-20 withdrew their initial endorsement of John Kerry, in effect making no endorsement at all, Cheung did not vote in that general election. "Sometimes it's what you identify with. Some people identify with age, some identify with gender -- high on my list is ethnicity." 
    If these delegates and the other 700,000 members of the 80-20 Initiative follow through in such a fashion, Obama could very well have gained a large percentage of Asian American Republicans in just one day.

7/31/08 San Francisco Chronicle: “Could Obama be first Asian American president?”
by Jeff Yang (a condensed version of his Asian Pop column on SFGate.com)
    "White skin notwithstanding, this is our first black President. Blacker than any actual black person who could ever be elected in our children's lifetime. After all, (he) displays almost every trope of blackness: single-parent household, born poor, working-class, saxophone-playing, McDonald's-and-junk-food-loving boy from Arkansas ."
    With these words in the New Yorker in 1998, Toni Morrison granted our 42nd president, William Jefferson Clinton, a kind of cadet membership in the grand cultural narrative of black America . While her intent was never to make him out as a role model, her essay nevertheless reflected how implausible, how impossibly distant the idea of an African American occupant in the Oval Office seemed at the time.
    Morrison couldn't have known that, exactly a decade later, her assertion would be called into question: In Barack Obama, we now face the very real prospect of an "actual black person" being elected president - though his cultural narrative is so unique and complicated that some would argue it has as many contrasts as commonalities with that of the average black American.
    In fact, reading Obama's absorbing 1995 memoir "Dreams From My Father," it strikes me that the circumstances that surround and define Obama can just as easily be read as those of another community entirely. Which raises the question: Could it be that our true first black president might also be our "first Asian American president"?
    He was born and raised in Hawaii , the only state in the union with an Asian majority; he spent four formative years in Jakarta , Indonesia , the home of his Indonesian stepfather Lolo Soetoro, where he attended local schools and learned passable Bahasa Indonesia. The family with whom he's closest - half sister Maya Soetoro-Ng and her Chinese Canadian husband, Konrad Ng - and many of his friends and social circle are Asian American. So, too, are some of the most senior members of his congressional team - his Senate chief of staff, Pete Rouse, whose mother is Japanese American, and his legislative director, Chris Lu, whose parents hail from China .
    Evidence for Obama's affinity with the Asian American experience runs even deeper as one delves into his memoirs. "A lot of aspects of the senator's story will be recognizable to many Asian Americans," says Lu, a Harvard Law School classmate of the senator's who joined his team in 2005. "He talks about feeling like somewhat of an outsider, about coming to terms with his self-identity, about figuring out how to reconcile the values from his unique heritage with those of larger U.S. society. These are tensions and conflicts that play out in the lives of all children of immigrants."
    Understanding this dimension of his makeup offers critical insights to how his outlook and political sensibilities were forged, even providing explanation for some of his more controversial positions, such as his charge to black parents for personal responsibility.
    Some African American leaders, notably the Rev. Jesse Jackson, have suggested that Obama's continued reminders of the obligations of parents to their children, of citizens to their society, are elitist and patronizing. To Asian Americans, they simply sound ... familiar. They're part of the ethical foundation many of us have heard so often in our parents' voices: aspiration tempered with pragmatism. Strenuous effort and rigorous accountability as the bedrock of success. Moderation in all things, humility in times of triumph, patience in periods of tribulation.
    This is a point often missed by those who have assessed Obama at face value, seeing in him a fiery street preacher or a bright-eyed idealist, an iconoclast or an ideologue, and expressed disillusionment with what they see as "triangulation" or "pandering" in some of his recent positions. The people who know him best say that the senator is nothing if not consistent - that throughout his career and campaign he has stayed true, if you will, to his Asian American roots.
    Calling Obama the first Asian American president doesn't obscure or invalidate his other identities - black, white, multiracial, transnational, pancultural; if anything, it simply highlights the fact that his diverse heritage uniquely invites those around him to project on him a full spectrum of hopes and dreams.
    "He's basically a human Rorschach test," says Lu. "African Americans think, and rightfully so, that this is a guy who understands their experience. But it's similar if you talk to Latinos and Asian Americans, or to our 22-year-old field organizers. People see in him the qualities they want to see."
    The important thing to note is that this isn't a case of "either/or" but "and." Perhaps the way to read Obama was best pointed out by another black man of mixed heritage, another pioneer whose arrival on a heretofore lily-white landscape shook the firmament. If we are all Tiger Woods, there's no reason we can't all be Barack Obama. In an increasingly flat and unbounded global landscape, this is not a weakness, but our greatest competitive strength.
    "It's amusing watching people come up with these caricatures suggesting he's not American," notes Lu. "His story is the quintessential American story. It's the story that our nation is all about."


7/29/08 Washington Post: “Obama, at Fundraiser, Pronounces Himself an 'Honorary AAPI'”
By Jonathan Weisman
    At a fundraiser sponsored by a coalition of Asian American political groups, Sen. Barack Obama today pronounced himself an "honorary AAPI," or Asian American and Pacific Islander.
    Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) introduced Obama at the fundraiser, held in a ballroom of Washington's posh Mayflower Hotel, noting that Obama's family includes Asian Americans and that he spent part of his childhood in Indonesia. 
    "The son of an immigrant, raised among AAPI's in Hawaii , Barack Obama understands the struggles of immigrants searching for an identity in America ," he said.
    The candidate's entrance was greeted by an extended ovation. His 20-minute speech dwelled heavily on immigration and Asian-American issues, as well as his own background. Born in Hawaii , raised for a time in Indonesia , Obama said his first college roommates were Pakistani and Indian. "Most importantly," he said, "I have a sister who is half Indonesian, who is married to a Chinese Canadian. I don't know what that makes my niece."
    "Being here is especially meaningful to me because I consider myself to be an honorary AAPI member, and I think I've got some pretty good credentials," he said.
    The event was jointly sponsored by the Asian American Finance Committee and the Democratic National Committee's AAPI Leadership Council, South Asian American Leadership Council and Indo-American Leadership Council. Event chairmen contributed or raised $33,100.
    Obama ditched his usual stump speech for a more focused talk on issues of interest to the audience. He promised health care initiatives geared toward Asian American problems, gave a full-throated endorsement of federal support for minority-owned businesses (just days after McCain backed state initiatives banning affirmative action), and promised to restore the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
    "We are a nation of laws, and if people are breaking our immigration laws, there should be consequences," he said. "But I also believe that one of the things that sets this country apart is that there is no one who looks like a typical American.... You can have a Honda who is a congressman. You can have an Obama who is a presidential candidate."
    The audience was heavy with South Asian, Southeast Asian and East Asian Americans, but there were plenty of attendees from other ethnic backgrounds, as well. Among those gathered were Reps. Bobby Scott of Virginia , Joe Baca of Calif. , the head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, delegate from American Samoa , David Wu of Oregon and Xavier Bacerra of California .


7/16/08 Asian Americans for Obama: “Field Poll: Asian American Californians for Obama 59%-23% Over McCain,”
    The latest Field Poll of Californians likely to vote in the upcoming November presidential election was released today showing that Barack Obama enjoys a large preference advantage over McCain among Asians (59% to 23%), Latinos (64% to 21%) and overwhelmingly among African-Americans (89% to 5%).
    Overall, Obama now leads McCain by twenty-four points (54% to 30%) in California .
    Obama has consolidated the support of California Democrats and non-partisans who voted for Clinton in California 's February 5th primary election. The poll shows Obama preferred over McCain by 80% to 8% among these voters.
    Three times as many Obama voters (51%) as McCain voters (17%) say they are “very enthusiastic” about supporting their candidate for president in November.
    Obama's image rating among the overall California electorate (63% favorable vs. 26% unfavorable) is more positive than McCain's (48% to 38%).
    These are the main findings from the survey conducted July 8–14 in English and Spanish among a random sample of 672 likely voters statewide.


7/13/08 India Post News Service: "Indo American Clinton supporters merge loyalties with Obama Sunday,"
by Srirekha N. Chakravarty
    NEW YORK: For the scores of Democrats among the South Asian community, the recent move of former Clinton campaign advisor Neera Tanden to the Obama campaign has sealed beyond doubt, the merger of loyalties to get a Democratic President elected this November. Indian American Neera Tanden, a longtime policy aide for Sen. Hillary Clinton, and her campaign's policy director, has moved to the Obama campaign as his domestic policy director. Significantly, the senior most Clinton loyalist's move was a strategic and deliberate one that was capped with Clinton's blessings. Prominent South Asian fundraisers in the Clinton campaign, notably New York hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal, have also reportedly been asked by Sen. Clinton to lend their fundraising capabilities to the Obama campaign. 
    Hardcore supporters of both Senators Clinton and Obama among South Asian Democrats and active campaigners, have welcomed the mergers not only in the larger interest of the Democratic Party but also see the moves as a combining of forces to defeat Republican attempts at regaining the White House. "We are willingly working for the Obama campaign now," said New Jersey-based businessman, Prakash Shah, who is a longtime Democrat and a diehard Clinton supporter. 
    "A lot of us seniors have been specifically requested by Sen. Clinton at various meetings in different cities, to support Sen. Obama." Although Shah wholeheartedly agrees that Sen. Obama is a far better candidate for President than presumptive Republican candidate John McCain, he admits that the shifting of loyalties does not come easy. 
    "When you work feverishly for one campaign, which does not make it, there is bound to be disappointment and the usual moaning and groaning. But you move on," he says. Move on they did, because, as Shah says, "we definitely don't want another Republican in the White House." Shah also concedes that he does not think Sen. Obama the perfect candidate for President, owing to his lack of experience. "Sen. Clinton would definitely have made a better President of course," he says unflinchingly, while rationalizing that a lot of Americans feel experience is not important. "So, we got what we got," he adds smilingly. Active political workers apart, such merging of loyalties is not likely to confuse the South Asian voters who may have been supporters of one or the other Democratic candidate, according to Hrishi Karthikeyan, co-founder of South Asians for Obama (SAFO). SAFO is a national grassroots effort to mobilize the South Asian American community behind Senator Obama's candidacy. 
    "Such moves (such as Neera Tanden's) are typical of the party consolidation that occurs after the primary race has concluded and the party unites in preparation for the general election contest ahead," explains Karthikeyan. "Tanden is one of the brightest, most thoughtful minds within the Democratic Party today, and I think her strong support of Senator Obama speaks volumes to his strength as a candidate." Further elaborating the point, he says, "I don't believe the community is "confused" by these moves. 
    Although Senators Obama and Clinton were both competing for their party's presidential nomination, as fellow Democrats they share the same values and outlook for our country. At the end of the day, I think members of our community realize these shared values, and supporters of Senator Clinton know what an ally they have in Senator Obama. In fact, any minor policy differences between Senators Clinton and Obama pale in comparison to the gulf of difference between either of them, and Senator McCain. In Obama's favor, Shah says Black Americans, young Americans and other minorities are all very excited about him; and among the Whites, there are those who would never vote for a woman, those who would never vote for a Black and those who would never vote for a Democrat, but that has not stopped Black and other minority candidates from winning electoral offices in predominantly White constituencies. "We do sometimes overrate prejudices," Shah observes. 
    For South Asian Democrats it is perhaps good enough that both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama favor universal health care, a responsible end to the war in Iraq, a rollback of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, a restoration of the basic rule of law in both domestic and international affairs, a comprehensive foreign policy that makes full use of our diplomatic as well as military resources, and an energy policy that focuses on innovation and conservation rather than a further erosion of the planet and resources. "I would note that our community is diverse in its backgrounds and viewpoints, and I would never suggest that we are monolithic or that we proceed in lockstep," says Karthikeyan. 
    "That said, however, I do believe that our community will overwhelmingly support Senator Obama in the fall as a result of his positive message and agenda for our future. He represents the same values (hard work, education, responsibility, humility, fairness, equality, opportunity and hope) that brought our families to this country in the first place. I believe that our community, like the country at large, is fundamentally unsatisfied with the results of 8 years of failed policies from the current president. They understand that Senator McCain simply offers a continuation of those failed policies, try as he may to convince us otherwise. 
    For that reason, I am confident that the South Asian American community will be solidly behind Senator Obama in November." Shah, who was one of the highest fundraisers for the Clinton campaign - he raised over half-a-million dollars -- is now organizing a fundraiser of Indian Americans for Sen. Obama on July 23rd at the Royal Albert's Palace in New Jersey, which will be attended by Hollywood filmmaker Manoj Night Shyamalan, and several Clinton supporters. 
    On the larger point of how South Asian supporters of Sen. Clinton will contribute to Senator Obama when they only recently contributed to the Clinton campaign, Karthikeyan says, "I think the rationale for doing so remains the same as supporting Sen. Obama for sharing the same Democratic values as Sen. Clinton, which stand in stark contrast to the Republican nominee Senator McCain."

7/8/08 press release: "Obama Campaign Announces Asian-American Finance Committee,'
    CHICAGO, IL - The Obama campaign announced today the launch of the Asian-American Finance Committee. The committee is comprised of diverse American communities of supporters, including those from Asian American, South Asian American, and Pacific Islander background, who will raise funds to elect Senator Barack Obama as President and to strengthen and expand the Democratic Party.
    “We look forward to doing everything we can to elect Senator Obama in November,” National Co-Chair Vinod Khosla said. “From ending the war in Iraq and restoring America’s standing abroad, to promoting innovation and working toward a comprehensive energy independence plan, from restoring the balance between civil liberties and national security, to ensuring all Americans have access to high quality, affordable healthcare, Senator Obama has consistently shown that he is the right choice not just for Asian-Americans, but for all Americans.”
    The leadership of the Asian-American Finance Committee includes:
    National Co-Chairs
* Sohaib Abbasi (Silicon Valley, CA)
* Nasser Ahmad & Romita Shetty (New York, NY)
* Cyrus Amir-Mokri (New York, NY)
* Swadesh Chatterjee (Cary, NC)
* Vinod Khosla (Silicon Valley, CA)
* Bel Leong-Hong (Gaithersburg, MD)
* Scott Oki (Seattle, WA)
* Mahinder Tak (Bethesda, MD)
* Stan Toy (Los Angeles, CA)
    Grassroots Co-Chairs
* Curtis Chin (Los Angeles, CA)
* Hrishi Karthikeyan (New York, NY)
* Dave Kumar (Washington, DC)
* Reshma Saujani (New York, NY)
    National Co-Chair & Senior Policy Advisor
* Preeta Bansal (New York, NY)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Obama Press Office, (312) 819-2423



7/2/08 Chicago Sun Times: “Meet Maya, the Asian side of Barack Obama's family: Half-sister helps Obama go after 15 million Asian-American voters,”
by Juliana Barbassa
    San Francisco ---- The throng of Asian-American donors drew closer, drinks in hand, to hear Barack Obama's sister describe the wide arc of his life: beyond politics and Chicago , into his childhood in Indonesia and Hawaii .
    To many in this crowd Obama's Asian-American half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, represents yet another aspect of Obama's identity that makes him unique as a presidential candidate, although it has been underplayed amid the excitement surrounding his shot at becoming the first black president.
    ''It would be the first time that the first family is comprised in part of Asian-Americans -- as well as African-Americans, of course,'' said Keith Kamisugi, a coordinator with Asian-Americans for Obama. In early June he organized a fundraiser along with two other Obama events focusing on Asian-American voters in San Francisco .
    Discussion of those ties has taken a back seat to the Obama campaign's efforts to win the Hispanic vote and his ability to rouse young and black voters. In spite of the drawn-out primary season, many voters have heard little about Obama's years in Jakarta -- he lived there between 1967 and 1971, while his mother was married to Soetoro-Ng's father, an Indonesian businessman -- or about his years in Hawaii , where Asian-Americans are a majority.
    Soetoro-Ng and Obama have different fathers and the same mother. Her father is Indonesian, his is Kenyan. Her husband is Chinese-Canadian.
    Initially, as the campaign focused on fighting out the primaries, state by state, ''the idea was to downplay to some degree race and ethnicity,'' said Soetoro-Ng in an interview with The Associated Press. ''A lot of the emphasis had been on reaching out, making connections, closing the gaps.''
    That theme resonated among Obama supporters of all backgrounds, said Soetoro-Ng, who is nine years younger than Obama and considers him ''the strong male force'' in her life after her parents' divorce.
    It was with Obama she attended her first blues concert and her first voter registration drive, she said. The two remain close: She was there when Obama's oldest daughter, Malia, 9, was born, and plans to help celebrate her 10th birthday on the 4th of July, on the campaign trail.
    Soetoro-Ng's appearances give voters a chance to get to know Obama as a person, not just an elected official. Her stories illustrate the development of his character, from his days as a teenager who loved basketball and bodysurfing and didn't always get the strongest grades, to his growing sense of civic duty in the summers she spent with him in Chicago .
    But she also has a political role to play. She plans to spend her summer vacation -- she is a teacher at an all-girls' school in Hawaii -- introducing her brother to crowds such as this one.
    ''We are ready for a more complex construction of identity as a country,'' she said, dismissing the possibility some voters might find it hard to relate to Obama's multiethnic background and foreign experience.
    ''Maybe not everybody is as mixed or as hybrid as he is. But he gets Kansas , because we have Kansas ,'' she said, referring to their mother's background. ''He gets the Midwest . He gets the south side of Chicago .''
    And he ''has a lot of affection for Asian cultures, in all of their various forms,'' she said.
    That cultural variety is among the reasons Asian-American and Pacific Islander voters have gotten less attention than other ethnic groups from the media -- or even from the Obama campaign -- during the primary season.
    Asian-American voters represent about 5 percent of the population, or about 15.4 million people, but their communities are scattered around the country and harbor deep cultural and geopolitical differences that bleed into their voting behavior and ensure that many remain independent, harder to court.
    ''I'm not surprised we haven't had as much attention as Latinos and African-Americans,'' said Kamisugi. ''We're underdeveloped and under-recognized'' as voters.
    In 2004, 56 percent of Asian-Americans voted for Democrat John Kerry and 44 percent for President Bush, according to exit poll data.
    ''It's not an easily definable vote,'' said Tony Quinn, a California political analyst. ''You can't talk about it as a voting bloc -- it's not.''
    Asians make up one-fourth of the foreign-born population in the United States ; many are first-generation immigrants. That presents a challenge to politicians, said Gautam Dutta, executive director of the Asian American Action Fund,a political action committee whose goal is to increase Asian-American political participation.
    ''You can't have a one-size-fits-all approach,'' Dutta said.
    This may explain why an event billed as the community's first National Presidential Town Hall, which drew about 2,000 Asian-American and Pacific Islander leaders, elected officials and voters in May got less attention from candidates who appeared and spoke before Hispanic and black civic organizations.
    Hillary Rodham Clinton made a video appearance, Obama took questions over the phone. There was no response from Republican John McCain's campaign.
    But some analysts argue that because Asian-Americans are just emerging as a political community engaging them now will pay off.
    Census numbers show their growing importance. The Asian-American population grew 3 percent between 2004 and 2005 -- more than another other group. And the Census projects the population will grow 213 percent by 2050, to 33.4 million.
    In some key states, their weight is already considerable. Besides Hawaii , where Asian-Americans are 57.5 percent of the population, and California , where they're 13.5 percent, Asians are 7.7 percent of New Jersey and Washington , and 7.2 percent of New York .
    In some races, even a comparatively small group can cast the key votes. In Virginia 's 2006 Senate contest, Republican George Allen referred to an Indian-American as a ''macaca'' and the resulting outrage among Asians helped propel Democrat Jim Webb's come-from-behind victory. Webb won by 7,231 votes.
    ''Parties are hesitant to invest in communities where party loyalty is not fixed,'' said David Lee, who teaches political science at San Francisco State University , and heads the Chinese-American Voters Education Committee. ''But if you don't spend the money, if you don't invest in Asian voters, why should they be loyal?''
    Soetoro-Ng, and her husband, Konrad Ng, a professor at the University of Hawaii , are already doing some of that work.
    Ng blogs on the Obama campaign's Web site, and Soetoro-Ng plans to continue to take time from her teaching throughout the fall to make phone calls to house parties, appear on radio broadcasts and perform other outreach for her brother.
    ''My brother is very interested in reaching out to communities,'' including Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, she said. ''You're going to see a lot of new reaching out. It will be more deliberate.''

5/10/08: The Maui News: “Superdelegate Hirono endorses Obama,”
    Honolulu — Saying the Democratic Party needs to be united, U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono said Friday she is endorsing Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination over Hillary Rodham Clinton.
    Hirono, one of Hawaii ’s nine superdelegates, said although she has “deep respect and admiration for Senator Clinton . . . at this point, I think it is important for the party to unite behind the front-runner.”
    Both the Hawaii-born Obama and Clinton are “extraordinary candidates and both represent the kind of changes that America wants,” Hirono said. She also said she is not saying Obama would be a better president than Clinton , but the focus of the party should be on defeating the presumptive Republican candidate, Arizona Sen. John McCain
    “We need to have a Democrat who will change the priorities from the Bush priorities. John McCain is not a change, but a continuation of the Bush agenda, so we have to make sure that we have someone who will lead a change,” Hirono said. “The Bush priorities are disastrous for our country.” 
    Hirono represents the 2nd Congressional District, which includes Maui County , the other Neighbor Island counties and rural Oahu . She spoke to The Maui News in a telephone interview from Washington on Friday after releasing a statement on her support for Obama. 
    On her last visit to the district two weeks ago, she said, people told her they are ready to move beyond the primary feuding and focus on the GOP challenge.
    She said her choice for Obama is not just because he grew up in Hawaii , “although it’s great that Barack has a background of being from Hawaii ; as president he can appreciate the importance and challenges of diversity in our country.
    ‘‘Barack Obama is someone who can bring about the positive changes Americans want,’’ she said. 
    She noted that Hawaii residents overwhelmingly supported Obama in the February Hawaii caucus and are proud of his deep roots in the state. 
    The islands’ other Democratic congressman, Rep. Neil Abercrombie, was an early Obama supporter as a superdelegate and has called on the state’s undecided superdelegates to endorse a candidate as soon as possible so the party can focus on the general election. 
    ‘‘We don’t want to be concentrating our efforts and our energies on this end any longer than we have to,’’ he said in a phone interview Thursday. 
    The undecided superdelegates are Sen. Daniel Akaka and Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Dolly Strazar. 
    Jesse Broder Van Dyke, spokesman for Akaka, said there was no change in his position. There has been no announcement from Strazar and calls seeking her position were not returned. 
    The state’s superdelegates also include Sen. Daniel Inouye and Democratic National Committee member Richard Port , who are supporting Clinton . 
    The three remaining superdelegates, including the state party chair, will be chosen later this month when the local Democratic party gathers for its state convention. 
    Brian Schatz, a candidate for state party chair, supports Obama. His rival, Annelle Amaral, said although she supports Clinton , she will uphold the will of Hawaii ’s Democratic caucus voters, who overwhelmingly supported Obama. 
    Overall, the national convention will have about 800 superdelegates, who are free to choose their candidates and are not bound by state primary or caucus results. 
    Despite signs that Obama may have the nomination locked, a spokesman for Inouye said the senator remains supportive of Clinton . 
    ‘‘Senator Inouye will not join the chorus urging her to leave the race,’’ said Mike Yuen. ‘‘He is confident she will make the right decision for both the Democratic Party and our nation.’’ 
    Inouye told the Honolulu Star Bulletin there are still ways for Clinton to win.  He said 15- or 20-point Clinton victories in the next contests would give people something to think about and noted that former President Bill Clinton was running third among Democrats for the party’s nomination at this time in 1992.
    Still, Inouye agreed that Clinton ’s performance in the recent North Carolina and Indiana primaries did not help. He expects her to make a decision about her campaign after primaries May 13 in West Virginia and May 20 in Kentucky and Oregon . 
    ‘‘I would think that you will go through the next round, and then soon after a decision will be made,’’ he told the newspaper. 
    Port said Thursday he is still concerned about what he sees as Obama’s inexperience and lack of support among white working-class voters and women.  Port said he will likely go to the convention as a Clinton supporter, although if Obama wins in West Virginia and Kentucky — states with large blue-collar populations — that would affect his decision. 
    The presidential candidate for the party will need 2,025 of 4,049 delegates. As of Friday, Obama had 1,840, Clinton had 1,684 and John Edwards had 18. The Democratic Party 2008 convention will be held Aug. 25-28 in Denver . 
    “My hope and expectation is that the Bush policies are so obviously bad for the country that we will all recognize the need to have a president who will change the direction,” Hirono said. “At the same time, we have to be sure when we come out of our convention we are going to be united as a party.”  Subscribe to Maui News

4/16/08 Pennsylvania debate.  Transcript from The Morning Call.  http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-debate-transcript-041708,0,2860758.story?page=20
    STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Obama, last May we talked about affirmative action, and you said at the time that affluent African- Americans, like your daughters, should probably be treated as pretty advantaged when they apply to college and that poor, white children, kids, should get special consideration, affirmative action.
    So as president, how specifically would you recommend changing affirmative action policies so that affluent African-Americans are not given advantages and poor, less affluent whites are?
    OBAMA: Well, I think that the basic principle that should guide discussions not just of affirmative action, but how we are admitting young people to college generally, is how do we make sure that we're providing ladders of opportunity for people? How do we make sure that every child in America has a decent shot in pursuing their dreams?
    And race is still a factor in our society. And I think that for universities and other institutions to say, "You know, we're going to take into account the hardships that somebody has experienced because they're black or Latino or because they're a woman"...
    STEPHANOPOULOS: Even if they're wealthy?
    OBAMA: ... I think that's something that they can take into account, but it can only be in the context of looking at the whole situation of the young person.
    So if they look at my child, and they say, "You know, Malia and Sasha, they've had a pretty good deal," then that shouldn't be factored in.
    On the other hand, if there's a young white person, who has been working hard, struggling, and has overcome great odds, that's something that should be taken into account.
    So I still believe in affirmative action as a means of overcoming both historic and potentially current discrimination, but I think that it can't be a quota system and it can't be something that is simply applied without looking at the whole person, whether that person is black, or white, or Hispanic, male or female.
    What we want to do is make sure that people who've been locked out of opportunity are going to be able to walk through those doors of opportunity in the future.


3/23/08 Honolulu Advertiser: “Hawaii superdelegates split on role; Obama, Clinton vie for Isle votes,”
By Derrick DePledge
    U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye said he would counsel Hawai'i 's undecided superdelegates to trust their own initiative and experience, and not necessarily the results of the Hawai'i caucuses, when choosing which Democratic presidential candidate to support.
    "It's up to them. It's their decision," said Inouye, D-Hawai'i, a superdelegate who has endorsed U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York . "But if they were going to appoint us to follow the votes of the state, you don't need superdelegates, right? We were designated as superdelegates to use our initiative and experience to do what is right."
    U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, a superdelegate who has endorsed U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois , said superdelegates are free to choose but he does not see how they could put aside Obama's overwhelming victory in the February caucuses.
    "I can assure you, if there is one thing superdelegates can do — party activists as well as elected officials — is they can count," said Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i. "And I think they can count the number of votes that would leave, or at least not show up at the polls, if there was any sense that the will of the voting population who participated in these primaries and caucuses was being vacated by the superdelegates."
    Inouye and Abercrombie reflect the split within the Democratic Party over what criteria superdelegates should use if they are ultimately called on to resolve a deadlocked nomination campaign. Should they use their own instincts about who would make the better nominee or should they follow the popular vote in their states?
    Obama won 14 of Hawai'i 's 29 delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August through the caucuses, while Clinton took six.
    The other nine delegates to the convention, the superdelegates, are not pledged to either candidate.
    Three — Inouye, Abercrombie and Democratic National Committee member Richard Port, who supports Clinton — have publicly announced their preferences. Three — U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono and DNC member Dolly Strazar — have stayed neutral. And three will not be chosen until the state party convention in May.
    The national convention will have nearly 800 superdelegates — elected and party officials — whose votes for a presidential nominee are not bound by the results of any primary or caucus.
    Obama leads Clinton among delegates whose convention votes were determined by primaries or caucuses, at 1,404 to 1,249.
    But neither candidate is on track to win enough pledged delegates in primaries and caucuses to clinch the nomination — 2,024 are needed — so the superdelegates could decide the outcome.
    POTENTIAL RESENTMENT
    Obama and Clinton and their surrogates nationally have been courting undecided superdelegates, with Obama's allies mostly urging them to follow the popular vote — in which Obama leads — and the Clinton faithful appealing for them to use their discretion because neither candidate will likely have a majority of delegates after the primaries and caucuses.
    Local Obama and Clinton supporters have been quietly doing outreach behind the scenes. Many activists are also trying to influence delegates to the state convention, where the party chair, vice chair and an unpledged add-on superdelegate will be selected.
    But some of the party's insiders have said they are largely avoiding high-pressure tactics. Many privately hope the nomination will resolve itself without putting Hawai'i superdelegates on the spot, so the party can build toward the November campaign against the Republican nominee.
    Some local Democrats, keen on convincing some of the record 37,000 people who participated in the caucuses to stay with the party, hope to avoid a prolonged internal battle that could create hard feelings within the party's already splintered factions.
    Some of these Democrats, for example, fought privately to discourage a recount that some Obama and Clinton partisans had wanted after witnessing caucus irregularities caused by the high turnout.
    Others do not want to see the superdelegate issue completely overshadow the contest for party chairman, since the new chairman will have the assignment of holding on to the new Democrats drawn to the party caucuses and improving the party's lagging finances.
    Brian Schatz, a former Makiki state representative and local Obama volunteer, and Annelle Amaral, a former Kunia state representative and O'ahu party chair, have shown interest in the post.
    "When the dust has settled, whoever is the nominee (for president), we as Democrats must be together," Randy Perreira, executive director of the Hawai'i Government Employees Association, said of the superdelegate question.
    BROADER ISSUES
    Superdelegates — a term coined for unpledged delegates — were created by the party in the early 1980s to give elected leaders and party officials more of a role at the national conventions. The idea was that superdelegates could be trusted to break deadlocks or save the party convention from nominating a candidate who might not have the best chance of getting elected.
    Kareem Crayton, an assistant professor of law and political science at the University of Southern California, said the thought was that superdelegates would consider broader issues such as electability and what is best for the party in the long term rather than which candidates are favored by their home states.
    "So they selected people who would both have connections to the electorates in different states — senators, governors, important people within the party — but they also have people who are long-time party activists, people who aren't in this just because of a particular slate of candidates but who will be here today and tomorrow and will have to live with the consequences, win, lose or draw."
    Two of the undecided superdelegates from Hawai'i — Akaka and Hirono — have said they will seriously consider the results of the Hawai'i caucuses when making their decisions.
    Akaka has explained that he chooses not to endorse a candidate early because so many in the Democratic field had helped him win re-election in 2006. Hirono, who endorsed former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards in 2004, told the Hawai'i Tribune-Herald last week that she wants to hear feedback from her constituents.
    Strazar, the DNC member and executive director of the Lyman Museum on the Big Island , said she will look at how the campaign takes shape nationally after the primary in Pennsylvania in late April. She said she has given herself no personal deadline.
    "My criteria is still a nationwide criteria in terms of seeing the lineup of the votes," she said.
    Strazar said she had spoken with Obama but had not yet talked with Clinton .
    She said she has been receiving telephone calls and letters from people across the country, with many Obama supporters urging her to follow the Hawai'i caucuses or the votes in their home states.
    "Some are nice. Some are not so nice. Some actually have threatening tones and such," she said. "I talked to Obama himself and I'm aware that individuals will do what they want. I think Obama and his campaign are concerned that when people do that they make a bad name for the campaign."
    FROM THE SIDELINES
    The past three state party chairmen and the current interim chairwoman each has different advice for superdelegates.
    Jeani Withington, a Big Island attorney and interim chairwoman, said elected officials should have the discretion to choose as they see fit because they are the closest to the candidates. The party leaders, she believes, should generally follow the results of the Hawai'i caucuses.
    "I think they should probably reflect the wishes of the people of the state," she said.
    Brickwood Galuteria, a former party chairman now running for the state Senate, described it as a test of leadership but said the superdelegates should go with the caucus results.
    "It's probably politically much wiser to go with the choice of the majority," he said.
    Alex Santiago, a former party chairman who is now a lobbyist, said superdelegates should consider the caucus results but balance it with their own judgment.
    "One of the reasons you are a superdelegate is you are thought of as having good judgment. Obviously, I would encourage them to take a look at the phenomenon that has gone on. It's unheard of," he said of local interest in the campaign.
    "The superdelegates are wise enough to know this is very much out of the ordinary."
    Mike McCartney, a former party chairman who is now executive director of the Hawai'i State Teachers Association, said superdelegates should follow their own counsel and think about what will be best for the party, and the nation, come November.
    "There is a reason why we have superdelegates. It was designed to be elder statesmen to figure out what's best for the country," he said. "It's a matter of conscience."

 

3/20/08 www.AsianWeek.com: “Senator Barack Obama’s Race Speech: Reactions from the [Liberal] Community,”
by Phil Tajitsu Nash
    Editor’s Note: Democratic presidential front-runner Sen. Barack this week delivered his first major speech of the campaign on race, drawing on his dual heritage as “son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas .”
    Obama challenged Americans to break “a racial stalemate” that has bred “division, conflict and cynicism.” He pointedly included Asians and Latinos in describing the new coalition of diversity that is becoming America and is driving his candidacy.
    AsianWeek columnist Phil Nash collected numerous comments from Asian/Pacific Islander [liberal] leaders and they are posted here.
    Gautam Dutta, Executive Director, AAA-Fund:
    “ America is blessed with diversity — but how can we ensure that it unites us, not divides us? While we will not make a pre-primary endorsement, we commend Senator Obama for candidly discussing one of the most important issues facing our country today.”
================
    Wayne State Law School Dean Frank Wu:
    “There is an expectation in our modern era of politics as entertainment that leaders will be optimistic about all subjects in all contexts, everywhere and constantly. This expectation is especially clear with issues of race. We cannot express disappointment, much less anger, even if we are describing history accurately. This prohibition applies with even greater strength to people of color who wish to appeal to white voters. Senator Obama thus faces a tremendous challenge. The historic nature of his candidacy is obvious to all, as is his racial identity. Yet his efforts to speak to the issue are surrounded by suspicion, and he is expected to follow a script that celebrates progress. He has shown his brilliance in meeting these demands while also noting the problems that remain and the work to be done.
    I am not declared as a supporter of any candidate, and in my role as a Law School Dean cannot be involved in partisan politics.”
==============
    UCLA Law Professor Jerry Kang:
    “Obama’s speech is extraordinary because it is, to my mind, the most honest and complex analysis of race made by a candidate running for political office in my lifetime. He did what he needed to do–meet head on the hardest criticisms, with substance, context, history, humility, poetry, and analytical clarity.
    I can’t help but recall the case of Ozawa decided by the Supreme Court in 1922. At the time, federal law only permitted White or persons of African descent to naturalize into U.S. citizens. In his brief, Ozawa pleaded to the Court that ‘[i]n name, I am not an American, but at heart I am a true American.’ He stated the ‘facts’ to make his case. He had no contact with Japanese churches, schools, or organizations; his children were sent only to American church and American school; he speaks English at home ‘so that my children cannot speak the Japanese language.’ In short, to enter into the community of citizens, Ozawa publicly disowned his culture and his past. Of course, tin the end, this plea was not enough, and the Supreme Court held that no matter how fair Ozawa’s skin and how assimilated his character, he was simply not White and could not naturalize.
    I am heartened that although Obama rejected and denounced his pastor’s fire and brimstone anger, Obama refused to disown him for, as he explained, it would be like disowning the Black community or his White grandmother, in all their complexity and imperfection. This was not the most politically expedient thing to say. But it was the most honest thing to say. And as an academic who studies race, who sees so little honesty in the public discourse of race, I will always be deeply grateful.”
    ==============
    University of North Carolina School of Law Professor Andrew Chin
    “Sen. Obama challenged the media to step off the treadmill of the 24-hour news cycle, where the election has been covered as a horse race rather than a public policy debate. Too many national journalists lack the training and inclination to speak and write substantively on policy issues, to investigate the claims made by political actors, and to understand the historical context of the day’s events. Obama’s speech resonated so strongly because Americans have been starving for a substantive discussion on the racial divisions and grievances that have continued to afflict our beloved country in the decades since the civil rights movement. If the media is to play any role in that conversation, news editors are going to have to stop reading email smears and watching YouTube clips, and start reporting on the fractured state of our union and the policies that are being proposed to heal it. I hope Obama’s eloquence will be enough to inspire a few to break deeply ingrained habits.”
    =============
    Selma D’Souza, Chicago attorney:
    “I am supporting Obama, and I am a delegate. I thought it was an excellent speech. One of the reasons I support him is because he is the best candidate to bridge the racial divide in this country. He can do it without the strong divisive rhetoric that has been used in the past. He used the opportunity today to talk about the racial divide and realities Blacks and Whites face, and also other minorities. He put it in terms so both sides can see each other’s point of view. Because of his family background, he has a unique perspective that can see both sides of the debate.”
    ===============
    Ruthann Kurose, Seattle-based civil rights activist:
    “I thought Obama’s speech on race was a courageous and authentic speech that, if not today, will one day be historic. He dealt with race in an honest and direct manner speaking of the resentments, frustrations and fears that issues of race too often reveals. I respect his refusal to disown the Reverend as an individual yet emphatically denounce Rev. Wright’s words. I hope people will accept Obama’s generational insights with an open mind. I fear Barack’s honesty to talk publicly about the complexities of race may be too risky for the American electorate. I hope I am wrong and that reason prevails over that fear and that we will find in us the higher ground that Obama challenges us to work for.”
    ===============
    Shubha Ghosh, Ph.D., J.D., Professor of Law, Southern Methodist University  Dedman School of Law
    “I am one of those who thinks Barack can do no wrong. I thought the speech was sincere, balanced, and forward looking. The only think that is disappointing is that the speech was necessary given the kind of racialized scrutiny Barack has received.”
    ===============
    Caroline Fan, AAA-Fund Blog webmaster:
    “It was a masterful speech that details the complexities of how each of us navigates race, as well as the dilemma and rewards of being an American of mixed heritage. It was a profoundly American speech reflecting our nation’s history, shortcomings, and hope.
    At the end of the day, rather than turning neighbor against neighbor, we must keep the focus on what we can do to rebuild our nation and encourage economic growth. “
    ===============
    Paul Igasaki, Washington-based civil rights attorney:
    “I’m an Obama supporter. But my reaction, while supportive of his speech, comes more from my feelings as a person of color and a Japanese American.
    I know many Japanese Americans that carry great racial anger due to the tremendous wrong that our government and the racial majority inflicted on our community during World War II. Some of the great civil rights heroes of our community included the No No Boys, or some like them including my father in law, who stood up and refused when the government forced them to choose to serve in the army while imprisoned in relocation camps. Many of them express their anger racially and in terms that go beyond what I agree with or am comfortable with, but I do not judge them because I did not have to live through what they did. I disagree with some of their feelings, but it does not diminish the lessons that they have taught me, indeed should teach us all, about standing up and fighting for justice. There are many others in our community, men and women, that say very strong things that come from a place of being a minority in what has been a white man’s country. Yet many of them also say powerful and inspirational things about justice and brotherhood. That is what Senator Obama has described about his own former pastor. If we say he must deny this part of the minority experience to become President, then only minorities that are willing to reject completely any part of their community that does not pass ideological muster can be considered for higher office.
    We cannot escape race in this country. But if we try to accept the differences that have divided us and listen harder even when we disagree, we will become closer to a constructive democracy. Barack Obama is unusually balanced in his racial perceptions because of his mixed race background and because he has lived in multicultural Hawaii, racially divided Chicago and in Asia itself. We can benefit from the lesson on race relations Barack delivered today.”
    ===============
    John Hayakawa Torok, UC-Berkeley Ethnic Studies PhD candidate:
    “A powerful and moving speech, and quite charismatic. Obama’s a strong candidate, a youthful candidate, a thoughtful candidate. He sounds all the right notes about Americans of all hues and conditions coming together to strive for a more perfect union.
    His Christian social gospel values, as illustrated by his description of his pastor’s ministry among the poor and disenfranchised, articulates well with the missionary impulse expressed often in U.S. history. He scales up those values to the national level with his stated policy aspirations on jobs, education, and health care.
    In the speech he is good on history and on psychological decolonization issues in a racist society for many of the multiple ‘colonizers’ and ‘colonized.’ However his worldview, like the dominant U.S. worldview, lacks a needed recognition of that might be called America’s ‘other’ original sin - settler colonialism. Christian missionaries too often regarded the eradication of indigenous difference as part of their civilizing mission.
    The Bush administration Iraq doctrine was perhaps ‘democracy (like civilization in the past) comes from the barrel of a gun.’ Research on how the ‘founders’ of the ‘republic’ might have related to this proposition would be an interesting read.
    One can only hope that if elected Obama’s actions will match up to his rhetoric about ‘special interest’ rule in Washington, D.C. As a relative newbie in D.C., he is probably less beholden than others with more years of public service.
    ===============
    Professor Greg Robinson, University of Quebec and Asian American history expert:
    “Obama’s was a glorious success, among the best we have had in our mainsteam political life. It was at once frank and compassionate in discussing some of the troubles Americans have with dealing with race. At the same time, I regret the curiously perfunctory way that Obama brought in Asians and Latinos, as if their particular experience of racial bias did not resonate with and flavor the existence of African Americans. In particular, it would have been smarter to address the reckless ways that the media have played up Latino-Black divides in the primary voting. I fear that this may show a continuing tin ear regarding the concerns of other racialized groups.”
    ===============
    Marybelle Ang, Los Angeles-based attorney:
    “This speech, for its honesty and courage and eloquence, is a pivotal moment for the Presidential race and one that future generations will look back upon with admiration. It is the kind of speech that blows you away by the sheer weight and force of truths expressed.”

3/17/08 New York Times: Op-Ed Columnist: “Obama's Brother in China ,”
by Roger Cohen
    Brussels: America 's fate from that of others. Isolationism is not merely wrong, it's impossible.
    If elected, Obama would be the first genuinely 21st-century leader.  The China-Indonesia-Kenya-Britain-Hawaii web mirrors a world in flux. 
    In Kenya , his uncle Sayid, a Muslim, told me: "My Islam is a hybrid, a mix of elements, including my Christian schooling and even some African ways. Many values have dissolved in me."
    Obama's bridge-building instincts come from somewhere. They are rooted and proven. For an expectant and often alienated world, they are of central significance.

3/3/08 AAA-Fund News: Who Are the APA Superdelegates?
by Gautam Dutta
    The race between Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama is tight — so tight that it might not be decided by the voters.
    If neither candidate garners a majority of delegates, the so-called superdelegates — party leaders who control 39.3 percent of the 2025 votes needed to win — will decide the winner.
    Over the past few weeks, a healthy debate has raged about how the superdelegates should vote: Should they vote for the candidate who has received greater popular support (House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s view)?
    Or, should they base their vote on a combination of factors (Rep. James Clyburn’s view)? AAA-Fund will not take a position on this issue.
    According to Associated Press, Sen. Obama has won 1116 delegates from the caucuses and primaries, and has also secured the support of 164 superdelegates (for a total of 1280 delegates). Sen. Clinton has won 977 delegates from the caucuses and primaries, and has also secured the support of 241 superdelegates (for a total of 1218 delegates). However, since superdelegates are free to change their minds at any time, these numbers must be taken with more than a few grains of salt.
    For us, this raises two important questions. First, how many superdelegates are Asian American? The answer: 20 superdelegates, which amounts to 2.5 percent of the 796 superdelegates. To put that figure in perspective, just over 5 percent of the nation’s population is Asian American.
    Second, who are the Asian American superdelegates?
    Based on public sources, here is a list of these influential leaders (please let us know if anyone has been omitted):
    1. Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), AAA-Fund Honorary Board
    2. Rep. Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-Guam), AAA-Fund Honorary Board
    3. Rep. Eni Faleomavaega (D-Samoa), AAA-Fund Honorary Board
    4. Rep. Maizie Hirono (D-HI), AAA-Fund Honorary Board
    5. Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA), President, AAA-Fund Honorary Board
    6. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI), AAA-Fund Honorary Board
    7. Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA), AAA-Fund Honorary Board
    8. Minnesota Rep. Mee Moua, AAA-Fund Honorary Board
    9. Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), AAA-Fund Honorary Board
    10. Rep. David Wu (D-OR), AAA-Fund Honorary Board
    11. Kamil Hasan, DNC Asian Pacific Islander American Caucus
    12. Bel Leong-Hong, Chair, DNC Asian Pacific Islander American Caucus; AAA-Fund Board
    13. Mona Mohib, Vice-Chair, DNC Asian Pacific Islander American Caucus
    14. Mona Pasquil, DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee
    15. Keith Umemoto, Co-Chair, DNC Credentials Committee & Treasurer, Western DNC States Caucus
    16. Alicia Wang, 2nd Vice-Chair, California Democratic Party
    17. Former Rep. Robert Underwood (D-Guam), AAA-Fund Honorary Board
    18. Antonio Charfauros (Guam)
    19. Cecilia Mafnas (Guam)
    20. Taling Taitano (Guam)


2/18/08 Time: “Does Obama Have an Asian Problem?”
By Lisa Takeuchi Cullen
    As Hawaii's primary takes place on Tuesday, Barack Obama ought to be sitting back with an umbrella cocktail. After all, it's the state where he spent many of his childhood years. He graduated from the prestigious Punahou School in Honolulu , and his half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, still lives and works there. Along with his wife and daughters, the Illinois Senator returns occasionally for family reunions.
    But while there's a good chance much of Hawaii 's nearly 60% Asian-American population will be squarely behind Obama, the same can't be said for Asian-Americans in the rest of the country. So far this campaign, that is the one ethnic group that has voted most consistently and overwhelmingly for his rival, Hillary Clinton, generating a debate that has raised a very sensitive, ugly question: could some Asian-Americans not be voting for Obama simply because he's black? 
    In California , where Asian-Americans make up 8% of the electorate, a CNN exit poll found they voted three to one in her favor. In New York , the Asian American Legal Defense Fund's exit poll concluded that 87% of Asian-American Democrats backed their state's Senator. In New Jersey , it was 73%. From no other group did Clinton command that kind of loyalty; she won 69% of Latino voters in California , for example, compared to 75% of Asians. Publications including some local editions of ethnic newspapers like Sing Tao have endorsed her, as have prominent politicians including former Gov. Gary Locke of Washington and Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii .
    And while Asian Americans, accounting for just 5% of the population, may not have the numbers to sway the nomination one way or another, their overwhelming support of Clinton has led to a serious debate about what might lie behind it. Experts have speculated about a variety of possible reasons having little to do with race: Like other new immigrants, Asian Americans are more conservative in their choices for leaders, and therefore likely to go with the known entity, which in this race, thanks to her husband and her time in the White House, is Clinton . Many Asians are business owners who prospered under Bill Clinton. Just 34% of Asian Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 vote, according to a slick commercial by MTV's Choose of Lose Campaign, which may eat into Obama's poll numbers. Perhaps most significantly, the Clinton campaign had long ago locked up support from local politicians, who hold unusual sway over their ethnic communities.
    But the touchy question about race is the one getting the most attention. When CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 ran a piece by Gary Tuchman earlier this month implying that racism may play a role in Asians' voting choice, the outcry was instantaneous.
    The 80-20 Initiative, a political action committee seeking to solidify 80% of Asians in one voting bloc and backing Clinton , organized a petition demanding that CNN run a corrected segment. Asian bloggers, who skew disproportionately toward Obama, shot off paeans of support disputing CNN's theory. They pointed to prominent Asian-Americans like Norm Mineta, the former Commerce Secretary under Bill Clinton and Transportation Secretary for George W. Bush, who have recently pledged allegiance to the Obama camp.
    Still, the fracas has stirred some quiet debate in the community. 
    "Maybe it's just my cynicism speaking, but you look at those numbers and on some level there has to be some element of race," says Oliver Wang, a sociology professor at California State University at Long Beach . While not discounting the myriad cultural reasons that could explain the support for Clinton , "on a gut level my reaction is that at least some Asian Americans are uncomfortable voting for a black candidate."
    Wang, 35, who grew up in the U.S. , voted for Obama in the California primary. He is a child of Taiwanese immigrants, and believes that foreign-born Asian voters in this election may be leading the Hillary Clinton support. In his view, those voters tend to hold more conservative views; Obama's mantra of change and bold rhetoric could remind some of the unstable governments they fled; and they may cling to warm perceptions of Bill Clinton shared in their home countries.
    But Wang also suspects that race lurks among the possible reasons behind Asian immigrants' reticence to back Obama. "The images of African Americans that get exported to other cultures is not often positive," says Wang, who teaches about pop culture and race. "It's not unusual to find new immigrants who have never had a meaningful, personal encounter with an African American. So there's a very uninformed bias," says Wang.
    "Obama is a different kind of African American," he adds. &qu