It is not always easy to influence the masses, especially when it comes to their way of thinking. However, some time ago there was someone who managed to capture the hearts and imaginations of many Americans. This is President Barack Obama before the US election in which he was competing to become President of the United States. This has been a country with mixed reactions when it comes to issues associated with the racial belonging of individuals in the country. Barack Obama made a rather bold move when he decided to participate in the country's presidential elections. The 2008 election saw the rise of one of the most charismatic African Americans in the United States political arena. The race associated with Barack Obama left many quite skeptical about the impact it would have. However, these same skeptics ended up astounded by the developments that were made. For starters there was the “Obama effect”. This was an effect that had far-reaching implications to the point of even affecting existing relations between the African-American population and their white counterparts. These important sectors of the US population ended up supporting Barack Obama as the preferred contender in the elections. There was a lot of hope associated with Barack Obama in 2008. Some sectors of the American population saw him as the one who would emancipate them. from the many problems they had to face. These range from unemployment, poor economic outcomes and health, to name a few. The way Barack Obama managed to enter the minds of voters was largely attributed to the way he conducted himself and the way he managed to convince the masses with his speeches. Especially African Americans were the most hopeful. Members of this community saw Obama as the best role model at that time. As such, the influence associated with their profile was perceived to carry over to their performance in life-related aspects. There are some logical explanations as to why this might be the case. For starters, African Americans are largely viewed as stereotyped. Therefore, when someone from this same group finds themselves in a position like Obama's, all hope is not lost. Previous studies have gone a long way in demonstrating that a role model is perceived as more effective when he or she comes from the same community or racial affiliation as the people who admire him or her...