Hawaii vs. Illinois: Battling Over a Favorite Son

[Pirate Smile]

Hawaii vs. Illinois: Battling Over a Favorite Son

By Dan Nakaso / Honolulu Friday, Nov. 14, 2008


A woman admires a pro-Obama support shirt worn at a Democratic celebration party in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Marco Garcia / AP

-snip-
But in spite of the excitement over the inaugural ball, Hawaii has a bit of a chip on its shoulder. Barack Obama, after all, is a Senator from Illinois, and the incoming President comes off as more a Land of Lincolner than a son of the Aloha State. It's been that way throughout his political career. For example, it took more than a year of watching Obama play poker in "The Committee Meeting" — the nickname that Illinois state senators gave to their regular, after-hour poker games — before legislator Denny Jacobs noticed Obama's occasional off-hand references to Hawaii's nearly year-round 85-degree weather. "When we were down there in January and it was a blistering 2 degrees below zero, he would sit there and say, 'You know, if we were in Hawaii we wouldn't have this problem,'" Jacobs says.

Some island residents have a ready explanation for Obama's reticence about the state where he was born. They say that local people were raised to be humble, an island tradition that dates back to the 19th century birth of Hawaii's plantation era, when everyone came from some place and pineapple and sugar cane workers needed to get along in order to survive their new island home. So it would be uncharacteristic, they say, for a true Son of Hawaii to go to a big city like Chicago and brag about the sun-drenched beaches, tight family ways and tasty food of his homeland. Instead, they say, someone like Obama would most likely try to fit in while sticking to the island values of his birthplace. Hawaii state Sen. Clayton Hee, an early Obama supporter, is hardly surprised that Obama doesn't go around telling people on the U.S. mainland about his roots. Says Hee, a Democrat and the former chairman of the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs. "When you look at Barack Obama, Illinois may be his home, but he belongs to Hawaii."

Obama becomes an island boy immediately upon touching down on Hawaiian soil. In August, when he returned for a family vacation in Honolulu, Obama was quick to mention the local restaurants he ate at while growing up and the food he had been craving on the campaign trail. He even used the common island greeting, "Howzit," a pidgin English version of "How is it going?." "How's everybody doing today?" Obama asked the crowd who turned out to greet him. "Howzit?" Then he talked about going to lunch: "I might go to Zippy's. I might go to Rainbow Drive-In. I haven't decided yet. Get some Zip Min. I'm going to go get some shave ice. I'm going to go body surfing at an undisclosed location." He would later be seen bodysurfing through the sometimes treacherous waves at Sandy Beach, which have killed and crippled professional bodyboarders and surfers. Obama caught five waves in 30 minutes, says Honolulu lifegaurd Peter Erwin, who was asked by Secret Service agents to accompany the Senator. "Obviously knew what he was doing," says Erwin. "He was handling himself well."

Michelle Obama frequently tells the rest of America, "You can't really understand Barack until you understand Hawaii." But all of that won't deter Illinois. Democratic State Sen. Terry Link, Obama's Chicago poker- and golf-playing buddy, says that while Obama was born and raised in Honolulu, "We consider him ours. He's very much an Illinoisan, as far as we're concerned. We embrace him as our favorite son. He's Illinois true and blue." Addressing Hawaii's claims on him, Link says, "We're going to steal him from you in every which way we can."

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1858759,00.html

Some Chicago love:


New banners outside Chicago City Hall paid for by Mayor Richard Daley's campaign committee. (Jose M. Osorio/Tribune / November 5, 2008)

[WI_DEM]

1. I vote Hawaii! after all they gave him over 70% of his vote

[opihimoimoi]

2. We got da friggen Birth certificate and da Punahou Diploma...that settles dat, .. Brah

:beer:

[Pirate Smile]

3. I got some good news and some bad news. They do tend to focus on the birth places of Presidents BUT

Lincoln wasn't born in Illinois either. He was born in Kentucky.

I propose a Hawaii v. Illinois duel? Poker game? Surf-off?

[opihimoimoi]

6. Death Cage Sashimi Match....Loser must eat Crow....LOL

BYOW......wasabi....

[calico1]

4. Wow. Just like we in CT battle TX over Bush.

We say "He is YOUR native son." They say, "No, he is YOUR native son."

:silly:

[Pirate Smile]

5. LOL

[TankLV]

8. Noticed that too, huh?!

good one...

[4lbs]

7. Obama is America's first surfing President. He might be the world's too.

:headbang:

[Retrograde]

9. If he wears a lei for his inauguration...

I was in Hawaii for the primary elections this year, and noticed all the local politicians wore leis for the big event. I think a tasteful maile lei over his overcoat would be appropriate at the swearng-in - I've already suggested this to Feinstein (like she ever actually reads my emails).

If he's half white/half black, why can't he be half Hawaiian/half Illinoisan?

[AspenRose]

10. That would be so COOL!!

I hope he does!