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August 23, 2008

Obama's choice probably not popular with Indian-Americans

Rick Moran
In choosing Joe Biden as his running mate, Barack Obama probably gained no friends in the Indian-American community.

In July of 2006, Biden slurred Indian Americans, saying:
 
"In Delaware, the largest growth of population is Indian Americans, moving from India. You cannot go to a 7/11 or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking."

That brought denunciations from Indian American groups and now serves as an example of how Biden's mouth can get him into trouble.

But Obama himself outraged the Indian community last June when a document was leaked referring to his rival Hillary Clinton as a senator from "Punjab," an Indian province, ostensibly because of her support for outsourcing.

Indian groups denounced the stereotyping:

Puri, in his letter, asks that Obama "respond directly" to the reports of the memo, and "let us know if indeed your staff is promoting these hurtful stereotypes."

Puri said in an interview that the stereotype he was referring to was "that Indian-Americans are all thinking about outsourcing, that whenever you talk to an Indian-American it's about outsourcing."

"Indian-Americans are physicians here, they're professionals here, they're creating jobs in this country," he said.

Needless to say, the Obama camp would appear to have some fence mending to do with the Indian community.

Thoams Lifson adds:

Just last weekend Obama was calling himnself a "Desi" (familiar term for Indian-American) and a "home boy" in front of a South Asian crowd in San Francisco. Maybe he meant it as a reference to Lucielle Ball's ex-husband Latin bandleader Desi Arnaz?

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