Summary

David Sedaris begins his essay "Obama!!!" by describing the media attention that his neighbors in France get. Whereas the local people are profiled because of their talents and hobbies, expatriate Americans are mainly profiled to offer their opinion on American politics.

During the presidential elections campaign of 2008, the French and the international press often questions Americans overseas about politics. They always imply that Obama cannot win the presidential race because he is African-American.

The writer himself—who is not particularly involved in politics—is often questioned by the press about the elections during his international book tour. In the US, the people who are not involved in politics are rarely interviewed on political topics.

The article notes that after the start of the war in Iraq, Sedaris’s father was worried that the French might be aggressive towards his son because they were hostile to the war. However, this never happened.

When David Sedaris states that he will vote for Obama and he believes Obama has a good chance of winning, the reporters in France, Europe or other parts of the world do not believe him because they assume all Americans are racist.

The writer criticizes those who claim not to be racists but are obviously not color-blind. He admits that even though h...