It’s one of those questions that always makes for good cocktail chatter, but unfortunately there’s no reason to believe its going to happen anytime soon.
Is the United States ready for an Asian American President?
It was a question pondered by a panel of Asian American politicians speaking at a recent forum in New York City sponsored by JCI Philippines,UniPro and Asians in NY, reports Rappler.
Among the panelists were Chinese American Congresswoman Grace Meng, Korean American State Assemblyman Ron Kim, and Filipino American Jersey City Council President Rolando Lavarro.
“The US is ready for an Asian president. It’s going to happen,” said Filipino American Edward Santos, a candidate in the recent New York City council elections. “Doesn’t matter which ethnicity (becomes president) as long as he advocates for Asian Americans in the country.”
Others however were more cautious and measured in their responses.
“We need to do a lot more at the local level and the federal level,” said Meng. “We need to get more of us involved to run for public office.”
Kim said it would only be possible if the Asian American candidates “cross over to other communities such as Italian, Jewish, Irish voters.”
You can learn about what inspired the panelists to get involved in politics in Rappler.