Hispanics feeling betrayed by Obama

I read a report today that some Hispanics are feeling betrayed by President-elect Obama choices for his top cabinet positions. Most of top cabinet positions have been filled by whites and Jews, with the notable exception being Bill Richardson, who is Hispanic. Obama is expected to name his once-bitter rival Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.



By most estimations Obama’s choices so far is very close to perfect. He’s assembling a “dream team” of experienced and well qualified individuals to deal with the economic crisis and two wars abroad inherited from the Bush administration. His choices reflect his commitment to unity and getting-the-job-done over race politics.

I understand Hispanics’ feeling of betrayal since, like African Americans, Hispanics voted overwhelmingly in favor of Obama. At first glance, the racial composition of his administration may not reflect the “change” that he promised.

In his defense, however, the country is facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and Obama simply cannot afford to appoint anyone but the most qualified and experienced people to the top posts. It just so happens that the most experienced people happen to be white and Jewish.

A major reason that there are fewer qualified minorities is that we seldom were given the opportunities to gain the necessary experience to fill the posts. Working under a black president, Obama’s white and Jewish cabinet members would be hard-pressed not to recruit minorities to their departments. These diverse and inclusive working environments, in turn, will enable minorities to attain the necessary experiences and credentials to become the leaders of tomorrow.

As a Khmer I would like to see at least one or two Asian Americans appointed to Obama’s top posts. However, even more important than Asian representation is that he or she is truly qualified for the job. I do not want to see Obama appoint an Asian just to show that his administration is inclusive of Asian Americans.

Tokenism is a deplorable arrangement that attempts to project a semblance of diversity while perpetuating the status quo. The token Asian appointments of past administrations have done little to advance Asian American concerns. Often, they were even less interested about Asian American causes than their white bosses.

Obama, on the other hand, is more concerned about laying the foundations for real diversity and real inclusion whereby all Americans would be given an equal opportunity to succeed. Far from betraying his minority supporters, I think Obama’s actions reflect incredible depth, foresight, and integrity in his thinking.

I’ve always been impressed by Obama’s exceptional intelligence and vision, and I think America is very fortunate that he, instead of one of the other candidates, was elected to lead the country out of the current mess.

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