The Obamas' Vision for a Better World: A Power Couple for the White House: SPIEGEL Online

Quoted via SPIEGEL Online:

These four people (the Obama family) are darlings of the US public, and they became a symbol long before the presidency. Obama, almost worshipped as a politician, is experiencing the honeymoon phase between voters and the winner of the election, a phase that will come to an end. But these four people? The Obamas represent the happy family and, especially in difficult times, the love of parents for their children, a love that tells the world that everything is possible. Yes, they can.

They are black, and that is important. In fact, perhaps this is even their most important task: to demonstrate to America’s whites and blacks alike that an African-American couple can easily glide into the role of president and first lady — and be clever and charming and glamorous, all at the same time. This is all a matter of course, and yet America still maintains a different image of black men and women. more