The Barak Obama Effect

It is not always an easy affair to sway the masses especially when it comes to the way they think. However, a while back there has been someone who has been able to capture the hearts and the imagination of many Americans. This is President Barack Obama before the American elections where he vied to be the President of the United States. This has been a country with mixed reactions when it comes to matters that are associated with racial affiliation of the individuals in the country. Barack Obama made a rather bold move when he decided to go for the country’s presidential elections.

The elections back in the year 2008 saw the rise of one of the most charismatic African-Americans in the US political arena. The race associated with Barack Obama left many rather skeptical about the impact which he would have. However, these same skeptics ended up being astounded at the developments which were realized. For starters, there was the “Obama-effect”. This was an effect which had far reaching implications to the extent of even influencing the relationships which were existent between the African-American population and their white counterparts. These major sections of the United States population ended up endorsing Barack Obama as the favorite contender in the elections.

There was a lot of hope which was associated with Barack Obama back in 2008. Sections of the American population viewed him as the one to emancipate them from the many problems which faced them. These ranged from unemployment, poor economic performance and health just but to mention a few. The way in which Barack Obama was able to get into the thought process of the voters was largely attributed to the way in which he conducted himself and how he convinced the masses through his speeches.

The African-Americans were especially the most hopeful. Members of this community saw Obama as the best role model at that time. As such, it was perceived that the influence associated with his profile would trickle down to their performance in aspects associated with life. There are some logical explanations as to why this may be the case. For starters, African-Americans are seen as stereotyped, to a great extent. As such, when they have someone who is from this same group being in a position such as Obama’s, all hope is not lost. Previous studies have come a long way in showing that a role model is perceived to be more effective when he or she comes from the same community or racial affiliation as the people who look up to him.