In “Barack Obama as the post-racial candidate for a post-racial America: perspectives from Asian America and Hawai’i”by Johnathan Y. Okamura his thesis states that, “Okamura contends that proclaiming Obama as an honorary Asian American and as a local from Hawai’i inadvertently lends support to the post-racial America thesis and its false assertion of the declining significance of race: first, by reinforcing the ‘model minority’ stereotype of Asian Americans and, second, by affirming the widespread view of Hawai’i as a model of multiculturalism.” The campaign of Obama was so successful because he appealed to both disadvantaged and advantaged peoples throughout the United States through the denial that racial diversity influences your experiences and opportunities. He was dynamic and able to proclaim his racial diversity which appealed to the neoconservatives and those who advocate for equity, this tactic helped support him to gain voters and contributions. Winant explains that “It is not [racial] identity, not difference, that we should (or could) dispense with, but the continuing hierarchy, oppression, bondage.” Obama was able to appeal to Asian Americans specifically by claiming his identity was largely shaped by asian american ideals such as; education, hard work, and family. This pushes for a colorblind societal view where, “neoconservative discourse seeks to preserve white advantages through denial of racial difference.”Although Obama was elected as the first African-American President of the United States, this furthered the agenda of neoconservatism of individualism and denied that racial groups are structurally disadvantaged in the United States.
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