I appreciate this reader's comment, because sometimes there is a perception out there that White people are all evil when it comes to race relations. I am in the human resources field and have seen crazy things and yes, racism in some instances. However, I have learned that many times, it is not White people who are hurting Blacks. We hurt ourselves by our inappropriate behavior, lack of preparation in our careers, poor communication, lack of ownership, etc. Anyway, I like the article because I have met some wonderful White people who are progressive and fair and as I watched the campaign, it was obvious there were so many Whites who rooted for Obama. Good balanced article. I just wish she didn't keep saying, Black "folks".

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 I agree and I'm very grateful.

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 I helped, as did a lot of other white folks. He's everybody's president!

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 Most Australians see Obama's presidency as a two-fold victory: we cried (we truly did)on inauguration day for the historic moment of the ascendency of America's first self-identifying Black president, and for what this meant for all Americans (black or otherwise) who have waited for this day for so long. Equally importantly, we cheered for the triumph of a rational, reasoned, eloquent and visionary man, and the team who put him there - Obama's victory is a victory for all right thinking human beings the world over, regardless of race, colour or creed. For us, both messages are equally important, and no-one should be surprised that 'White Folk' helped take Obama to the Oval Office - ultimately it shouldn't be about white folk or black folk, just all us folk together.

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 Knowing the history of black America and its legitimate distrust of the American political system, why would Ms. Greene be surprised by the skepticism of the Black electorate. Ms. Greene should be proud of her contributions to the campaign and be grateful that black voters came together along with other voters (Latino, young, intellectuals) to win the election. This is better than being a hater.

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 I agree with Renee Greene, it was "white folks that put OBAMA in the "white house"... White folks put every president in the White House, that's nothing new..what's different is the type of white people would stood up to the establisment and said enough and got behind Barack Obama. I often remind fellow African Americans when you thank all those people who helped elect OBAMA don't forget to thank those good white folks in Iowa, they were like abolitionist, standing up for what was right for the country. I also agree that there were only a few of us (Blacks) for OBAMA, most of us ( not me) were automatically for Hillary, Bob Johnson, Magic Johnson, most of the CBC with the exception on Barbara Lee & James Clyburn, Charlie Rangel, Andrew Young,and let's not forget Jesse Jackson wanted to cut his n-ts off. This is a new day and perhaps blacks and white's can work toward unification instead of segregation and separation, because at the end of the day..we are all in the same boat we might as well row together to reach dry land or we will all drown because of ignorance.

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 It seems that this article was written a bit confrontationally, but it does make the point that things generally aren't "black and white" when it comes to giving credit or assessing blame for anything.
Our country often marginalizes people who support candidates who don't have a chance to win. In many cases, people vote for the major candidate who has a chance to win. People who vote for 3rd party candidates are considered to have thrown their vote away. It was not a lack of support for Obama that kept people from supporting him early in the campaign. It was the perception that he didn't have a chance, and that if they didn't support Clinton, then someone else might get the nomination.
For every person like Renee who gets to say that she was with Obama since the beginning, there are probably 10 or 20 people who were with other candidates who never got 5% of the vote. Most people don't want to risk being marginalized by picking the wrong long shot.

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 As a woman of color I must say that Ms.Greene has a point and as a practicing psychotherapist with some anecdotal experiences; one
would have difficulty with a counter perspective.  In fact, as recently as last week I've had women of color express that they did not vote for President Obama but against Mr. McCain. It would be safe to say that President Obama received so much support from whites due to his message of inclusion for all and provided an
alternative rational approach to solving this nation's problems.
He successfully promoted the message that with all our different ethnicities, perspectives, customs and philosophies...we are still Americans and we should stop the tribalism mentality and work to elevate all of humanity. It hasn't worked for us in the past and we need a new paradigm!

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 I am from Iowa and when went to Washington, D.C. for the inauguration folks were hugging us saying it was Iowa that started the train rolling for President Obama!!

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 I began working on the Obama campaign in GA after the Dem National Convention with a Local Team 6. I sent coworkers a link to get involved in their community by putting in their zip. I heard 'we're not supposed to do that", and "he's not American". But after awhile, they came around. It was disappointing to see how Obama had to prove himself to the Black community.

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 Very interesting analysis,thought provoking, untwisting(sic)and long overdue.

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There is a tremendous amount of truth in what the writer states.

And there can be no question that The Prez would not have won the election without the white vote.

My Dad always told me that ALL white folks are not bad.

This is actually a no brainer.  

Thanks for reminding Americans that we are in fact in "the struggle" TOGETHER..

 I do agree with the writer's premise that white people elected President Obama (just based on statistics)....but it should be noted only segments of white folk elected him. Many conservatives, libertarians, Constitutionalists, etc did not vote for him whether they were Black, white or brown. And just because a white person voted for Obama does NOT mean that they are NOT evil. "not ALL white folks are evil, in spite of their evil counterparts." Voting for Obama means that you are NOT evil, no matter what your other politics might be. Voting against Obama means that you are part of the evil counterparts, even if you were Black? THAT is true propoganda.

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 Totally agree with the premise. I believe the issue is that many people - both black and white - never believed this USA was ready for the election of ablack man. I think we are more tolerant and truly respecrful of intelligence and real leadership talent on the national scene than many of us believed.

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 Your are correct and more people to become aware there are good people throughout the universe.

I thank G_D for having such people throughout the world, especially here in Americal. Numerous people assisted blacks with the Civil Rights movement. I am a decedent of slaves, native americans  and persecuted Jews, but I know deep in my heart there is some fun loving people in all cultures. Keep preaching it!

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 I agree with the writer of this article and I am sorry if she feels unapreciated.Understand, black folks's dreams have been ignored and stepped on for a long time. Historically we have been "trained" to feel as unequaled. So when someone reaches as high as Obama we are going to automatically feel he will fail. We waited until there was hope before we put our hopes and dreams behind him.

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 I can agree that without the white vote Obama wouldn't be president.  However, this article hit a nerve for me (and not just my petty dislike of the way the writer used "Black folks" so dismissively).  

First, the black community has always been wary of politics because even when we've gained from a particular person in office, those who run the country think of our race as an afterthought and most advances are due to our own bullying for fairness and equality.  Forget the fact that there are enough crazies out there spouting the "A" word which leads us to believe even if a Black man was President he wouldnt be for long.  We didnt know Obama and our lack of enthusiasm for politics didnt help.  The fact remains that without the Black vote he wouldnt be there either.  Without the support of all those Hillary ditchers and volunteers to get his message out you'd more than likely be calling McCain President right now.  
Second, why are you pouting?  Do you really think this makes you look righteous?  It doesnt.  You sound like a petulant child screaming "We saw him first" and i'm sure its beneath you...

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 Ms. Greene seems a bit too angry for anyone's good. Yes, white folks put Obama in office and we are very thankful for that (white folks put everyone in office because they are the majority in this country...duh). However, she need not take out her anger on Black people. We have been dealing with rejection and overt and institutionalize racism since we have been in this country. Of course, we are pessimistic. In actuality, we are down-right afraid. And sometimes that fear is fear of progress. When you have been turned down so much (or seen your parents depreciated), you tend to lose hope or you find some way to escape. It's called post traumatic stress syndrome and yes we do and still suffer from it. I have always been an Obama supporter and so have my family and friends. I wasn't pessimistic, but I was afraid. For the record, I voted for him because I believed he was qualified not only to be president, but to help transform relationships between different races and cultures. I hope that begins to happen, so we won't become so angry with each other.

Thank you white people for putting Obama in office.

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 Whenever I read or hear someone say that they want the stimulus plan to fail it really frustrates me.  While I was never a huge fan of George Bush, I NEVER wanted to see him or any of his plans to fail.  Anyone who prays or wishes for the leader of this great country to fail is really saying that they want America to fail.   I am a (52) year old black male who works everyday and personally I and irritated by this small but vocal group of so-called Americans who want the greatest country in the world fail to fail. My only question is why would any American want to see her fail?  I pray that the answer is not because the President is black?  

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 I agree wholehardly.  I am a black woman living in the Pacific NW (Seattle) and the passion others showed for the President was humbling and made me love this diversely tolerant region of the country more than ever (70K gathered in Portland, OR) Hello!  White folks were the ones that believed more than others and  helped US as a whole lift our confidence levels and calmed our fears that we could work together and elect him and that nothing adverse would happen to him in the process too many of our champions for change change no matter the race have ben stopped before their dreams for change have been realized.

They stepped up yes they did.

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 What still bothers me is that people are still making such a big deal about Obama making it to the white house in the first place. It shouldn't be such a big deal to have a black man as president. When it becomes not a big deal is when we will have truly progressed. But, if we keep acting like it's a big deal, it will continue to be a big deal. Act like we are all equal, and we will be!

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 I agree, that's common sense.  But one thing I think Renee may not have thought about is that there were probably a good number of Black people that didn't quite know what to make of this guy.  After all, when the majority folks in this country hold up a Black person they can be in the Clarence Thomas category - i.e. doesn't represent the best interests of the Black community.  So some skepticism is to be expected after our experiences in this country.  That said, it's time to move on and look for who best represents the best interests of the country AND the best interests of our communities...ALL of them.

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Ok. It seems obvious that white people had a big influence on Obama being in the White House. They are still over 60% of the population. From hip hop album sales to ratings of black t.v dramas, I'd guess they have a major inflence over all of it SINCE THEY CONTINUE TO BE THE MAJORITY. I don't know why people just won't get that.

Moreover, I don't see why it's such a big deal for Ms Greene to make the point that white people put Obama in the White House. My guess is that she probably hear black people bragging about our influence in putting Obama in the White House? And I also assume that shejust couldn't wait to write this article to prove them wrong. Ms. Greene,you sound like a bitter old woman who looks in the past and picks out things to cry "should, coulda, woulda" about. Black folks didn't start caring until 5 months before the DNC. Would you have been happier if we didn't begin to care at all? That would've proven just how unimportant our influence was wouldn't it? And then as educated as you may be, you went and did the most uneducated(ignorant) thing you could've done: Talk about what Blacks did in Georgia as if Georgia houses all the Black people there are in the country. I'm from New Jersey and was with Obama from the very beginning. When I first heard that he was campaigning for the Presidency I was excited. From the very beginning. And so did many people from the tri-state, NY area.

And since white people are mostly the ones with the time and the money to spend, I'm glad some of them decided to get off their high horses and spend it on a good cause. I don't care what anyone says, racism is still strong in this country, with a Black president. I see it everyday. I attended a very diverse university and still experienced racism at an almost rampant rate. It wasn't easy for a "minority" to infiltrate the white cliques, almost impossible really and this was a college with a high Democratic and "liberal" population.

I'm sure all white people aren't evil.Some of them just moved back to make way for the growing number of people like you. I know most of the other comments tried to understand your point of view. I understand it but I don't respect it. I can't believe you wrote this article! Get a grip.

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Woew. It doesn't suprise me that White people are giving themselves credit for Barack Obama's victory. Look at our history books and tell me how many times White America has given credit to what really happened in the U.S.'s history. Black people built the White House, and only in 2009 did a (half) Black person get to live in it. That's the case with many White Americans today. You all didn't get the money you "suported" Obama with. No African Americans were allowed to claim money for thewir work for well over 400 years.If that were to happen to any other group of people today, I don't think they would still exist!! Take the help you gave Obama and see how it stacks up against what [we] African Americans have supported for you all [Whites].

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Hostility! Wow! It seems that we all are at a point in time when we need understand the full scope of diversity. Why should it not be said that Whites supported President Obama? Did they or did they support him? It has to be known that Whites and Blacks put Mr Obama in office. Those who are not racist have to form a barrier against those are or otherwise racism will continue for a long time. Maybe racism affects everyone. What am I reading in these replies? Maybe that is what is coming out. President Obama is everyone's President. Many white people wanted this too. I don't know if the article by Ms Greene is hostile or lacking in diversity. What I think is that she is pointing out truth as she knows it. Why is the truth that she wrote not truth? Why hide from truth or only let a little truth out. Was there reason for Blacks to get on board so late? Probably! This was a historical election for America---for all of America. This election was for all of America. President Obama still needs the support of White people. He needs the support of Black America, Asian America, Indian America, Hispanics America, African America, Japanese America---everybody who supported him---he needs their support more now than ever. Has anyone searched the internet lately? There are groups out there who are spending big bucks and big money to remove President Obama from office. He needs all us who voted for him to be loud and to be present for him. Exclusion is not good at any level at any time. I think for total absence of racism if that can ever be --- Whites and Blacks have to come together and band against those who are racist. These replies suggest to me something else.

I am sorry that Slavery, Jim Crowe, and murder happened, and that unfair wages, unfair justice, unfair education, unfair housing still exist. I can't go back into history to wipe that out the total record of White domination and injustice but I can be supportive of President Obama. None of the wrongs in history can be reversed by Whites. What Whites can do is to continue working to rid America of it racism and to educate their families and friends.

Just this weekend I had it out and out with my family who are 100% against President Obama and one is going to the Tea Party in Atlanta on the 15th. Protesting against taxes is one thing but most of the Whites going to that affair think that they are protesting against President Obama. Many are not protesting about his politics. They are protesting that he is Black.

I am saying that the President needs all of us who voted for him to continue being to be there for him.

Was Ms Green speaking to Whites, Blacks or both? What was she trying to say?

Yes, like it or not Whites think different than Blacks and Blacks think different that Whites. That has come to be known in recent years with some events in the news such as the OJ trial and others.

I personally felt many of these remarks were divisive. They are different words that I hear from divisive Whites but they do same thing. Hold us back from reaching that Dream that Martin Luther King had for America!

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I think people are taking it the wrong way. I agree majority of the population is white, but I don't believe there taking credit for his victory it's probably because they have heard ignorant comments from african americans. I'm a black college student and the day after the election made me very mad at my race. I've never heard so many stupid comments. Many of the students I knew just voted for him because he was black and couldn't name one of his viewpoints. As soon as they found out he won everyone ran out the center of campus celebrating. I was so lost what are they celebrating..half of them pretty much don't even know what is going. Black students making dumb comments at other students who had McCain shirts. One comment I heard was America is 60% white and we still won come on now because he's black doesn't mean white people won't vote for him...come on grow up. I was just very surprised at how everyone was acting. It's really a shame to see how people think.

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