Obama Presidential Campaign Official Kick-off

[Gaspar]

It looks like the president has assembled a new staff at his campaign headquarters in Chicago.
http://barackobama.tumblr.com/post/20543413021/chicago-hq-2011-versus-2012-what-a-difference-a

They look young and energetic!


Good group shot.  Lots of bright faces.

[Conan71]

Hey, look! He gave occupiers jobs!

[Gaspar]

These look like smart kids.  That's in the Prudential building over by Grant Park in Chicago.  Great location.  Nice views and close to public transportation.  Very diverse community in that area.

[Gaspar]

You know what is rather odd. . .

The president signed an executive order back in August that requires the federal government to embrace a more diverse employee base that better represents the community at large. 

In a city like Chicago that is almost 40% African American (even greater in the inner-city where this office is located), and boasts an unemployment rate for African Americans that is almost double that of unemployment for the white population, one would expect to find a far more diverse campaign staff???

I suppose that because this is not an official government agency, the President is free to hire whomever he wishes.  Perhaps these employees were hired for their skills and background instead of any racial or cultural quotas.  It's just a little disturbing that in a community that is nearly 40% African American there wouldn't be a more representative staff, if for nothing more than to lead by example.

[AquaMan]

Apparently you are satisfied that the photo shows all the workers rather than cropped, you did a background check to see what heritage they possess, have a link to show the 40% reference and we are to believe that you only want to make note of young fresh faces in a non-perjorative way.

Or, put another way, all black people are easily recognized, Native Americans, Asians and Latinos don't count in diversity and photos never misrepresent as long as they are saying what you want them to say.

Do you intentionally set up these negative, cynical inferences or does it just come naturally? Why do I ask questions I know the answer to?

[Conan71]

If he had a son, he'd look like Trayvon.  Just not any campaign employees who do, eh?

That is really interesting there are not more black people on staff (I only see one person in the back who might be black), as you said, for no other reason than the ethnic and racial make-up of Chicago.  Also seems to be far more men than women.

[Gaspar]

Apparently you are satisfied that the photo shows all the workers rather than cropped, you did a background check to see what heritage they possess, have a link to show the 40% reference and we are to believe that you only want to make note of young fresh faces in a non-perjorative way.

Or, put another way, all black people are easily recognized, Native Americans, Asians and Latinos don't count in diversity and photos never misrepresent as long as they are saying what you want them to say.

Do you intentionally set up these negative, cynical inferences or does it just come naturally? Why do I ask questions I know the answer to?

Perhaps you are right.  I have however spent a great deal of time in Chicago.  There are quite a few African Americans there that indeed look African American, so I am reasonably confident that a representative sample of the employee base in this office would include a few.

These photos were posted by the Obama campaign, so one would assume that there would be an effort, as with any political campaign, to offer a representative sample of ethnic diversity within the campaign office.  Perhaps I assume too much?

According to census numbers the African American population in Chicago sits at 36.77%   http://chicago.areaconnect.com/statistics.htm  http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/17/1714000.html

[RecycleMichael]

Race wasn't the first thing I saw in the picture.

It was the lack of chairs. How do they expect those people to work while sitting on the floor?

Secondly, the hands aren't clapping in sync. When I clap along to a song, I try to stay on beat. I guess it is true that white people have no rhythm.

[we vs us]

Wow.  Silliness. 

Extrapolating the racial makeup of Obama's re-election team from a single promotional photo is just ludicrous.  There's simply no way any of us know enough about the circumstances of the photo, or how it's been manipulated, or what the rest of the room looks like, or how his entire organization is composed, or anything at all past what those 50 or so people look like.  In other words -- let's rely on facts, shall we?  Rather than Fox News style idiocy. 

[Conan71]

Wow.  Silliness. 

Extrapolating the racial makeup of Obama's re-election team from a single promotional photo is just ludicrous.  There's simply no way any of us know enough about the circumstances of the photo, or how it's been manipulated, or what the rest of the room looks like, or how his entire organization is composed, or anything at all past what those 50 or so people look like.  In other words -- let's rely on facts, shall we?  Rather than Fox News style idiocy. 

Manipulated?  Did you click the link? It comes from a feed from the Obama campaign and shows how much the office has changed in a year from an empty space to one filled with campaign workers.

[Gaspar]

Wow.  Silliness. 

Extrapolating the racial makeup of Obama's re-election team from a single promotional photo is just ludicrous.  There's simply no way any of us know enough about the circumstances of the photo, or how it's been manipulated, or what the rest of the room looks like, or how his entire organization is composed, or anything at all past what those 50 or so people look like.  In other words -- let's rely on facts, shall we?  Rather than Fox News style idiocy. 

Ok.  I'll accept that explanation.  

As we move forward, I expect that this same line of reasoning will be applied to images from the campaigns of other candidates, correct?

[Gaspar]

Manipulated?  Did you click the link? It comes from a feed from the Obama campaign and shows how much the office has changed in a year from an empty space to one filled with campaign workers.

I expect we will see the images removed in the next few days. 

[Teatownclown]

What waterman said...and RM....

you other boys have nothing better to do? No wonder the righties immerse themselves in old issues and false equivalencies. It's lazy not to look forward and come up with progressive ideas. We know RM exemplifies that type of positiveness.

You two other goobers try to convince us that there's a better way and why there's a better way. Otherwise, keep your prejudices and your discriminatory rants to yourselves.

[Ed W]

I like the photo.  It has great depth of field given the limitations of indoor light.  It's a high resolution photo, probably taken with a pro-level DSLR with a full size sensor.  

As for the diversity angle, you do know that this is only one office in one part of one city, don't you?  And many of these people are very likely to be unpaid interns.  That means they have some financial support other than an everyday job.  Think mom-and-dad, trust funds, or independent wealth. It would be interesting to find out the details rather than speculate or engage in not-too-subtle innuendo.

[azbadpuppy]

In a city like Chicago that is almost 40% African American (even greater in the inner-city where this office is located), and boasts an unemployment rate for African Americans that is almost double that of unemployment for the white population, one would expect to find a far more diverse campaign staff???

Although I find this topic instigative and rather pointless, I have to comment that you are wrong to suggest that where this office is located is ethnically or economically diverse. This is The Loop: a predominantly white and wealthy inner city neighborhood. Average house prices are hovering somewhere in the million dollar range I would wager. If this office was located in Hyde Park or one of the more heavily African American neighborhoods there might be a tad bit more credence to your observation. Also, the Obama campaign HQ has about 700 people on staff. This photo shows about 80 or so, barely a 10% representation.

And actually, the photo depicts quite a bit of "diversity" given your argument of neighborhood demographics, or at least as much as a single candid photo can. Apparently its just not the right type?