An Asian American President?

公開 2008年3月12日 1 comments

This year’s presidential election is exciting because for the first time in our history, a woman or a person of color has a real shot of being President of the United States. I didn’t think it would happen in my lifetime. All of this excitement has got me thinking: Could an Asian American ever become president?

The cynical (smart money) answer is no. I think to the vast majority of people in the United States, Asian Americans are still martial arts experts, geishas, good at math, hard working, dragon ladies, nerds who like to lust after blond-haired blue-eyed beauty queens.

The hopeful (long shot) answer is a maybe. The caveat is of course the right candidate at the right time with the right look and with the right message. In other words, think Barack Obama but with an Asian American surname.

I have put together a list of current Asian American politicians that I have singled out as folks to keep an eye on that I would actually vote for. Maybe, just maybe, one of them will be running for president soon.

First on my illustrious list is Gary Locke, former Governor of Washington. But according to his Wikipedia page, Mr. Locke “in 2007, declined a bid for the office of President of the United States.”

Okay, that’s the entire list I could come up with. Everyone else is too old or too young or hasn’t held a high enough position in government yet. When I did a Google search on Asian American politicians, most of the names I found were people who weren’t even born in this country and therefore are not eligible to run for president.

This is depressing. I was hoping to discover a possible candidate that I hadn’t known about. Someone I could get behind and keep my fingers crossed for. Instead, this is just confirmation that I need to run for President in 2012. I am relatively handsome (at least my mom and wife think so!), with an above average intelligence (six years of Kumon!), a winning personality (ask anyone!), and best of all: Asian American. I have four years to prepare. Can I count on your vote?

このシリーズについて

「コウジのコラム」は、全米日系人博物館スタッフのコウジ・スティーブン・サカイ氏によるコラムシリーズです。このコラムでは、南カリフォルニア出身の日系二世であり四世で、アメリカ的アメリカ人男性の視点から、ニッケイ・アイデンティティや文化について探ります。

執筆者について

コウジ・スティーブン・サカイ (Koji Steven Sakai) @ksakai

コウジ・スティーブン・サカイ氏は、「ホーンテッド・ハイウェイ」（2006）、「ヤッた相手が多すぎて」（2009）、「Monster & Me」（2012）、「#1 Serial Killer」（2012）の4本の公開済み長編映画の脚本を手がけました。また、「ヤッた相手が多すぎて」と「#1 Serial Killer 」では、製作も担当しました。長編映画、「Romeo, Juliet, & Rosaline」の脚本を執筆し、映画製作会社のアマゾン・スタジオと契約を結びました。コウジの小説デビュー作、「Romeo & Juliet Vs. Zombies」は、2015年2月、ザルミ（Zharmae）出版社のファンタジー部門専門の子会社であるルサンド・クール（Luthando Coeur）より出版されました。

（2015年3月更新）

「クマ」短編小説、第3部

「クマ」短編小説、第2部（全3部）

「クマ」短編小説、第1部（全3部）