It would seem so; Senator Obama himself said on July 29 that, "I consider myself to be an honorary AAPI member."
Senator Obama spent two years of his early childhood in Indonesia and even managed to learn passable Bahasa Indonesia. He did most of his grade school and high school in Hawaii, a state with a large population of AAPIs. Many of Senator Obama's staff and close aides are Asian: Peter Rouse and Chris Lu. However, beyond the superficial aspects of his life, Senator Obama holds and advocates for the values that the AAPI community shares - hard work, family, spirituality, education and security.
"Some African American leaders, notably the Rev. Jesse Jackson, have suggested that Obama's continued reminders of the obligations of parents to their children, of citizens to their society, are elitist and patronizing. To Asian Americans, they simply sound ... familiar. They sre part of the ethical foundation many of us have heard so often in our parents' voices: aspiration tempered with pragmatism. Strenuous effort and rigorous accountability as the bedrock of success. Moderation in all things, humility in times of triumph, patience in periods of tribulation."
Even though Senator Obama identifies with the AAPI community, he does not exclusively belong to it. This is why his message and experience resonates with such a wide strata of people. According to Lu, "He's basically a human Rorschach test… African Americans think, and rightfully so, that this is a guy who understands their experience. But it's similar if you talk to Latinos and Asian Americans, or to our 22-year-old field organizers. People see in him the qualities they want to see."
This is his biggest strength. He connects with and understands every person he meets; thus, we know he will be our president.
To read full text of article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/30/DDL6121GDT.DTL

By Sid Salvi