Obama, is He Really Good for Asian Minority?

It is quite obvious that different ethnic minority groups hold the power in the outcome of the United States 2008 presidential election. Historically, ethnic minorities have tended to favor the Democratic Party mainly because the perception is that Democrats are more open to diverse ethnic groups and their needs than Republicans.

Obama is doing fairly well with different ethnic groups. His African American heritage is a great pride for African Americans with 95 percent supporting him in the democratic primaries. For the same reason, Africans from all over the world would like to see Obama win the United States presidency. Native Americans share with African Americans the history of slavery and mistreatments of the past and feel perhaps that electing Obama offers them the healing they desire. Latinos and people with Hispanic background feel that Obama will give a very favorable hearing on illegal immigration and an acceptance of the Spanish language as part of the daily American life and are leaning toward him with their votes. The Muslim minority feels the closeness for Obama due to ancestry on his father's side.

Recent polling data indicates that Asian minority groups also support Obama's presidency in significant numbers. As a naturalized citizen of Asian background, I understand the attraction this group feels for a minority candidate. Rising to the top after all is not an easy road for minorities in the American society and Asian minority sympathizes with this fact!

The question however is what does Obama offer to ethnic minorities from Asia and Far Eastern countries? Is he really the right choice for this group? Are we sure that the policies of Obama presidency and perhaps even today's Democratic Party and its leaders are right for the ethnic minority of Asian background? After much thought and deliberation, I would like to bring some important issues to the attention of the Asian population and see, if upon reading them they are still in support of Obama.

1. Most immigrants from Asia and the Far East in the past and present came to the United States for graduate studies. After finishing their higher education, they found a welcoming audience of employers eager to use their talents! Having a job in America was the start of a journey to American life.

But there was something else that helped this minority group! Their home country's education system provided them enough training and understanding of English language needed to succeed in the American academia. Most Asian countries teach English as a language in secondary schools providing the skills necessary for higher studies in the United States.

Obama's policies on immigration and language with emphasis on making Spanish as an accepted language of business will change this advantage Asians have and will restrict access to educational opportunities. Chances are that future students from Asian countries will be expected and perhaps compelled to know the Spanish language along with English. A requirement or necessity to know Spanish to succeed in America will directly impact the Asian population's chances to come to America, to assimilate, and be successful in achieving the American dream.

2. Asians come to the United States for better opportunities just like other minority group and from all indications, they have done very well. Asian minorities are intricately involved in all aspects of American society as engineers, doctors, scientists, inventors, entrepreneurs and everything in between. Without minimizing the shadow of employment discrimination that many Asians have faced, they have in general been successful in achieving many of their dreams.

Ironically, if Asians take a closer look at their day to day life in America they might be surprised to see that their American dreams are tied to close associations with White Americans. Let's start with academia which is where a majority of Asian students first start their American life. Their first point of contact is White professors who make up the largest racial/ethnic group of faculty according to the Department of Education. The University staff members are also majority White and who provide the support and mentoring that helps the Asian students feel welcome to the new American life.

Outside the academia, Asians live and interact with neighbors, bosses, and friends who happen to be mostly White Americans.

It is not a stretch to say that White Americans have directly or indirectly played a major role in helping this minority group achieve the success they desire. The question arises, why then Asians are attracted by Obama's ethnicity or his minority status as the main reason to support him? Why do they feel that somehow Obama's presidency will change their lives for the better? What if the change is really NOT in their favor? Then what? Also, by voting solely on Obama's minority status are we not practicing reverse racism?

3. Obama has mentioned on many occasions that he will re-evaluate the free trade economic model that has been responsible for the outsourcing of good -paying manufacturing industries and jobs in America. A majority of Americans agree that the United States need to look at the negative impact of free trade policies and let's hope that both parties will do something to bring some sanity and balance into this unequal trade partnership!

However, the Asian minority should also consider the fact that Obama's extreme positions of limiting free trade might be very detrimental for the Asian economies. It is the manufacturing in China and IT industries in India that has brought about economic prosperities that fills Asian communities with pride for their native countries. Supporting Obama's presidency puts that progress in harm ways and Asian communities must consider this before voting for him.

4. According to the Small Business Administration, Asians lead other minorities in starting and growing Small Businesses. The tax proposals put forth by the two parties' will have great impact upon the survival and success of any Small Business. It would seem that the Republican Party's philosophy of low taxes should be very attractive policy issue that the Asian minority should take into consideration as they choose their preferred party.

5. Most Asian countries' economic and political structures are based in a socialist world view. Asian immigrants have firsthand seen the results of big government, high tax structure, and rigid regulations practiced in their countries resulting in high employment, lower productivity, slow progress, corruption, and death to the dreams of hardworking individuals. In fact, the progress that China and India boasts about is due to embracing open and capitalistic economic models. Why then does it make any sense to support Mr. Obama, whose worldview is very much based in a social agenda involving big government, entitlement programs, and higher taxes? Why the Asian community even questions the capitalistic system that has given them so much success in a foreign country over Obama's socialist philosophy which kept their native countries economy in check to the detriment of its citizen?

6. Asian countries have seen a fair share of devastation that terrorism brings in their home countries. Some Asian countries have lived with terrorism on a daily basis for many decades. The citizenry of those countries know that policies of talking to terrorists practiced by their native countries have never been successful. In fact, they have always wondered if their governments have the will and desire to stand up against terroristic threats and activities that people of those countries have suffered year after year.

The United States has been courageous enough to take a stand against terrorism and has shown leadership that no other country in the world has attempted time and time again. It would seem that the Asian minority would, instead of calling their adopted country's tough talk of that an aggressor, instead throw their support behind a political party that takes a tougher stand against terrorism.

7. That brings up the question of Iraq war! Polling data suggests that a majority of Asian community like the rest of America thinks that it was an unnecessary war and once started should have been managed better. From a practical point of view, for the United States loosing so many great men and women fighting in Iraq as well as billions of dollars at some point was good enough reason to get out of Iraq. But consider this scenario and its political impact:

The United States started a war, saw that it had lost control of the war and quickly withdrew leaving a third world country to the mercy of terrorists. But in the eyes of the world, this would have compounded the first mistake which was starting a wrong war. To leave a country shattered in the middle of an unfinished war would have given the world a bigger excuse to say that for America, American lives are worth more than Iraqi lives; that a rich country always treats a poor country badly.

If as some in Democratic Party argue that America has lost its standing in the world by starting the Iraq war, imagine the reaction of the world community, the liberal media and democratic pundits would have said had America gotten out of the war leaving the chaos and Iraqi people to fend for themselves.

It is the greatness of the United States to spend its own blood and wealth to make what was a wrong fight a right; to show leadership in a tough situations. Is this not what we Asians admired about America from far away?

8. The Bush government has been very good to Asian countries and their economies. India has the nuclear treaty that it thought was not possible! China, Vietnam, Thailand and many other countries have received a personal visit by this Republican president. From all indications, John McCain wants to continue a friendly, forward looking policies with Asian countries.

It is time that the Asian community living in the United States looks at the issues in an open and honest way rather than to just accept the conventional argument that only a Democratic party and a Democratic president will look after their interests and the interests of their native countries.

9. On a personal note, if films are any reflection of a country's culture, Asians like to cheer for a movie hero who shows extraordinary courage and strength and who's ready to die for his country. John McCain's life story is like a hero of an Asian film that we loved and cried over long after the movie ended. My plea to ALL Asian Americans would be to at this historic election look beyond the personal hardships and unequal treatment they believe they have suffered. At this time, think about the well being of the country they live in and the country they left behind. Republican party may not have said all the right words to bring people of various backgrounds in its fold, but the philosophy and value system offered by this party is closer to our thinking and hearts.

Obama is only good for Obama.

Asian-Americans who think any Democrat has their interests at heart have simply hidden from their memories the fact that it was the Democrat party that rounded up Japanese-Americans and held them in camps.

What party is good for Asian Americians?

Two words: Bobby Jindal.

The democrats ferociously support racial preferences which DISCRIMATE AGAINST ASIAN AMERICANS, who tend to be high achievers and otherwise would dominate grad schools and elite colleges. Affirmative action sends unqualified knuckleheads like Obama to Harvard, in place of better qualified Asian American applicants.

How about asking if he would be good for Americans? The strength of a nation comes from its unity. Diversity is unavoidable. Unity takes work. If Obama (or any candidate) is going to be “good for XXXXX” does that mean he might not be good for YYYYY, ZZZZZ or any other group that considers itself apart from the whole? The only thing I see coming from this idea that a candidate should be good for one group is that it gives rise, rightly or wrongly, to the suspicion that he/she might not be good for other groups - or not AS good. The result is contention and conflict.

Will Obama be good for Americans?

My Asian Americans friends are very successful because they do not look at themselves as victims or as minorities entitled to some preferential treatment. They work hard and get what they deserve. They will not blame others, the government or discrimination as being responsible for their failure. To them, Obama is not the solution... he is part of the problem. Obama represents Democrats who count on minorities with the ‘victim’ mentality to keep them in power. My friends will most definitely NOT VOTE FOR OBAMA!

The only reason why Asians (Chinese origin) would vote for Democrat party is because of their immigration policy. The Chinese are dying to come to the United States and they would vote for whichever party that will make the process easier.

Socially and fiscally, the Chinese culture is extremely conservative. Perhaps the most conservative among all ethnic groups.