[isrul]

When I looked up the word in Webster's online, an ad for Obama was posted on the same page. African American could apply to a white American with white parent(s) from South Africa. While you may believe the word is obsolete, it accurately describes Obama’s ethno racial makeup .Even bi racial is vague, given the fact there are more than two races. In any case, it's not a major issue.

[Philo-Junius]

“Mulatto” actually is a good term to describe Obama, but it has dropped out of general use because almost all African-Americans are of mixed descent.

Mulatto implies one parent who is entirely caucasian and one who is entirely African, as in Obama’s case—the issues of identity and caste are central to such an existence.

Most African-Americans, even though they have mixed ancestry, are raised entirely within the African-American cultural sphere by parents of similar ancestry.

There are good reasons to think about Obama’s ethnicity separately from, say, Jesse Jackson’s. Their family stories are quite different.

[NathanR]

“When I looked up the word in Webster's online, an ad for Obama was posted on the same page. “

LOL I still think it is obsolete ... like “negro”.