In spite of the fact that he is just as much white as he is black, white people just don't like President Barack Obama very much. According to a recent Gallup poll, President Obama's approval rating among whites has dropped to 39 percent. His overall approval rating has dropped below 50 percent, which is a 16 percentage point decline since his high of 66 percent earlier this year. African Americans love the president, giving him a consistent approval rating above 90 percent. So in spite of the fact that he may not pay much attention to us, we are a critical part of his political engine.

Obama is not nearly as bad of a president as some are trying to say that he is. In fact, many Americans still have faith in him. The problem, however, is that when the economy suffers, a president's popularity suffers. Even Clinton and Reagan had tough years, but did quite well when the economy took off.

Another point where Obama lost a great deal of his political heat with white America was during the Henry Louis Gates debacle. Obama's ill-timed, unplanned remarks about this tiny dispute between an officer and a citizen caused the president to immediately lose 7 percent of his white support. I am all for the idea of Barack Obama taking a stand for black men (Lord knows that he usually can't even think about doing that), but that was the wrong time for President Obama to transform into a Black Panther. The point I made in my own commentary was that a president taking on health care reform, two major wars and a poor economy needs to be incredibly focused.

Rather than wasting political capital to pursue the personal agenda of Henry Louis Gates, I would have preferred President Obama speak up on behalf of Walter Currie, the young black boy who was burned alive in a racially motivated incident in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Perhaps if Walter were a Harvard Professor, someone might consider speaking up for him at a press conference.

White resentment toward Obama is also strong because America has not gotten accustomed to having a black authority figure in the White House. Some were quick to approve of President Obama's policies when he was doing what they wanted him to do, but their trust doesn't extend to him pursuing the more pragmatic agenda he feels to be best for the country. I go through the same thing when teaching at a predominantly white university, where it is academically documented that black authority figures do not receive the same respect as white ones (of course our universities tell us that this is all in our heads). In the end, however, it is the decision to walk with power and confidence that ultimately gets you through tough situations.

Obama carries himself in clear presidential fashion: Never letting his enemies see him sweat and always handling every situation with the grace of a king. While he is not Martin Luther King, Barack Obama is certainly a king in his own right. He is the first black president, the George Washington of the black community. Whether Obama's approval rating rises or not, the magnitude of his feats thus far make him one of the greatest presidents in American history.



Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.