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He's Not Just Black, He's Skinny!

Colson Whitehead on the improbable triumph of a thin man

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 6, 2008 12:37 PM CST

(Newser) – “Yesterday morning, I woke up to a new world,” writes Colson Whitehead in the New York Times. “America had elected a Skinny Black Guy president. I never thought I’d see the day.” Whitehead says the racial barrier is nothing compared to the marginalization beanpoles like him experience in a country where packing on the pounds is considered patriotic. Until Barack Obama. “I remember telling my wife excitedly, ‘This guy is probably stuffed after a cup of minestrone!”

Indeed, the Wall Street Journal wondered over the summer if overweight America could embrace the svelte Obama. But, Whitehead writes, “I’m confident he’ll reach across the aisle to Skinny White Guys, Haven’t Been Able to Get to the Gym White Guys, and If They Were Women They’d Be Called Zaftig White Guys.” And Obama’s perfect for overdue belt-tightening and “cutting the fat out of the budget in time for beach season.”

[Images (4)]

[Quotes (1)]

"Skinny Black Guy" Barack Obama is perfect to lead America in some needed belt-tightening, Colson Whitehead writes. (AP Photo)

In this May 5, 2008 file photo, Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., addresses supporters in rain at a rally in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, file)

"Despite visits to waffle houses, ice-cream parlors and greasy-spoon diners around the country, his slim physique might have some Americans wondering whether he is truly like them." (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

"Like many Americans, I first saw Barack Obama at the 2004 Democratic convention. I remember telling my wife excitedly, 'This guy is probably stuffed after a cup of minestrone!'" Whitehead writes. (AP Photo)

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I never thought I’d see the day. What were the chances that someone who looked like me would come to lead the most powerful nation on earth? Slim. - Colson Whitehead, on fellow
Skinny Black Guy Barack Obama

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He's Not Just Black, He's Skinny!