From mistaken as a waiter to the most important leader in the world in 6 years

[grantcart]

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/11/07/before-he-was-president-mistaken-for-a-waiter-a-2003-obama-meeting/

Before He Was President, Mistaken for a Waiter: a 2003 Obama Meeting

Katherine Rosman reports on her encounter with President-elect Barack Obama.

On a warm weekday evening in 2003, a group that can fairly be described as representative of the media elite gathered at one if its favored venues: the garden behind the Manhattan apartment of journalists Tina Brown and Harold Evans.

The occasion was the publication of “The Clinton Wars,” by Sidney Blumenthal, a former aide to President Bill Clinton. Editors from the New Yorker and the New York Times were in attendance along with media figures like Steven Brill and Rolling Stone co-founder Jann Wenner. The guests mingled and sipped wine. Even Clinton showed up, instantly becoming the epicenter of attention.

I had not been invited but attended the event as the “plus one” of political columnist Eric Alterman, who wrote about the party in The Guardian on Thursday. At the time, I was a freelance journalist not yet employed by The Wall Street Journal. Eager for an opportunity to find a good story or meet an editor who might give me work, I accepted Alterman’s invitation to join him at an event littered with literati.

Once there, though, I felt awkward and out of place.

Standing by myself I noticed, on the periphery of the party, a man looking as awkward and out-of-place as I felt. I approached him and introduced myself. He was an Illinois state senator who was running for the U.S. Senate. He was African American, one of a few black people in attendance.

We spoke at length about his campaign. He was charismatic in a quiet, solemn way. I told him I wanted to pitch a profile of him to a national magazine. (The magazine later rejected my proposal.)

The following year I watched as he gave the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, and then won his Senate seat that fall. On Tuesday, Barack Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States.

But what I will always remember is as I was leaving that party in 2003, I was approached by another guest, an established author. He asked about the man I had been talking to. Sheepishly he told me he didn’t know that Obama was a guest at the party, and had asked him to fetch him a drink. In less than six years, Obama has gone from being mistaken for a waiter among the New York media elite, to the president-elect.

What a country.

[Connie_Corleone]

1. kick

[SweetieD]

2. I've been in situations like that myself. I was invited to an important reception once where I was

one of the few blacks. This middle aged white lady at the table asked me "If I was the entertainment". Just like that. I checked that lady and her and her husband were sulking and making up for it the rest of the night, even getting in a few "black friend" references.

[ailsagirl]

3. Stupid people-- how childish can they get??

:grr:

[cyndensco]

5. Most of us have probably experienced similar situations. I know I have.

It feels good though, real good, knowing that the President-Elect of the United States knows what it feels like when he is mistaken for the help. This, I would bet, was not the first time it had happened to him (though it will be the last :)).

Finally, we will have someone in the White House who really, really gets it!

[nichomachus]

7. I had a similar situation -- in reverse

I'm white. I went to grad school rather late in life -- I was 50. One day there was a seminar with a visiting professor who happened to be black. I was the first one in the seminar room, which was small. He said hello and then asked me what I taught. I explained I was a student.

Later he got on a rant about people making assumptions about him because he was black. I reminded him that he made an assumption about me because of my age. So, it cuts both ways.

To top it off, his story was stupid. He was traveling out of the country and in the hotel, he came into the elevator lobby of the floor he was staying on. There was a white woman sitting there on the bench waiting and she pulled her purse a little closer to her. He saw that as a reaction to his color. I proposed that a woman by herself in an isolated spot, when confronted with a strange man of any color, will probably make sure she knows where her purse is -- but maybe I'm wrong.

[eridani]

10. Reminds me of an NYC police interview of a woman who had outrun a rape attempt

They wanted to know if the men involved were black or Puerto Rican. The woman said that she didn't have time to notice--all she noticed was what sex they were.

[Westegg]

4. Wow. Just... wow.

[Window]

6. Wow! What a story.

:kick:

[unblock]

8. fear not, he'll be mistaken for a waiter again.

only we'll enjoy laughing even more the next time it happens!

[cyndensco]

9. No. Obama is known world-wide and will have life-long security.

Those days are past for him....

[eridani]

11. That reminds me of that old story about Wellington Koo, the Chinese diplomat

He was at a DC dinner party, and one of the women next to him kept trying what she thought were appropriate conversation starters such as "Likee soupee?" and "Likee drinkee?" Dr. Koo just smiled and ignored this. He was the after-dinner speaker, and after giving his speech in fluent English came back to his seat and said "Likee speechee?"

[democracy1st]

12. Haha he stands out in a crowd the guy looks presidential,but the mag rejected the profile lol