Isn't it obvious? Add whiskey.

It sounds really tasty, actually..

I debate that it's not racist or even a cocktail, there's no alcohol in it.

Sounds terrible, but also reduces his identity down to race, as though his being half black is his defining characteristic, which is racist, or something, maybe.

It would be racist if they used the word "Molato".

I voted for racist, but I'm not saying they shouldn't be racist, I'm just saying that they're being hilariously racist. LOL!

Needs Tabasco for a good ol' American ass-kick. And yeah, a triple shot of Puerto Rican Rum.

Pepermint Schnapps. That is all.

Racist. And they should add a few grains of gunpowder. As long as that's all it is, it wouldn't cause any problems.

Is there a spirit or cocktail ingredient that says "kicked some ass this week" that they could drop in there?

Bacardi 151 floater. Light on fire.

When you said you were translucent, I was thinking that was some new hipster term for "drunk." Anyhoo, if it's not fully racist, then it's close. Jeez, do they serve it with Oreos?

Ithaca is racist! I mean . . . Gorges!

a shot or two of fireball whiskey would spice that baby right up!

Ha - I'm sitting in Stella's right now. The friendly employees appreciated the shoutout/ debate :)

At that price, that has to be a coffee drink, not a cocktail. And it sounds delicious.

Perhaps this week's special is then when you order it the barista throws an extra shot in your face?

Do they have cold, white, decaf drinks named after Romney?

I'm kinda thinking "non translucent" people should be the ones to ask if this is racist or not.

Have to say -- would like to try out the drink itself.

are the coffee beans Kenyan?

oh @17 FTW

And, um, are they offering, say, a whipped, frothy, milk chocolate drink... o.O

serve it in a blood-stained head wrap on a george bush coaster.

I voted racist only because the term racism has been watered-down so much it can apply to anything.

Obama is an individual. He does not represent a race. Sure, white chocolate and cocoa symbolize the colors white and black. That is descriptive, not racist.

The kicker is macadamia nut. It doesn't represent race, but a region. Again, it is descriptive.

Black skin is a description. "Them Blacks" is racist.

Potatoes conjure Idaho. Coconuts tropical islands. Watermelon and fried chicken are perceived by the majority as the food eaten by a minority. See the difference?

And then there's the specialty beverage, the Santorum.

Barf. Can't you people handle any kind of beverage that isn't mostly milk? I liked milk too, when I was nine.

I'd drink this if you added whisky or rum and left out the coffee, cocoa, chocolate, nut, and milk. A couple of ice cubes and you're golden.

@13 - I came here to say the same thing. Fireball!

White chocolate is unnecessary in any application, except maybe in a racist decorative frill.

Depends on your definition of racism. If it includes acknowledging that race exists or that a particular person is of a particular race, then sure, it's racist.

Or maybe a shot of Fighting Cock!

I'll have what @25 is having.

@16 Ha! Shot in the face..tee-hee.

Something that combined Hawaii and Chicago flavors would be more appropriate. But no one wants to drink a pineapple juice and hot dog water cocktail.

Fnarf, we have to go drinking sometime. We can both mock the tastes of amateur drinkers. ;-)

@33: Slog Happy Geni! Whiskey for all!

@23: That last stereotype is ridiculous, in my opinion. Fried chicken and watermelon are two delicious foods that, to be accurate, people of all races and ethnicities often enjoy.

So... as a barista at Stella's, I have the pleasure of having crafted the first Obama (side note: Thank you Mr. Savage for the shout-out, we're big fans). When the Obama first came on the menu, its final ingredient was "hope." However, hope is quite difficult to preserve and goes stale rather quickly. Were I to add a spirit, it would be Flor de Caña, a Nicaraguan rum.

If you make it back to Cornell/Ithaca again, you should stop by and eat and drink for free to your heart's content (and detriment) at our humble/full-of-ourselves establishment.

-Ethan

@33, sounds good to me. Maybe at the next certified Will-in-Seattle-free Slog Happy, if such a thing should ever occur.

Too bad none of the bars near my house are as good as Stella's sounds -- Ethan @36 has a good thing on his hands with Flor de Caña. Mmm. The bar nearest my house has exactly ZERO rums at hand, which ought to be against the law.

What memories! I wrote most of my papers (longhand!!) in Stella's during college back in the early 90s. Good times. And Ithaca is indeed gorges #12.

Funny stuff here.

I also like the booze versions suggested, but to keep it a coffee drink I would sprinkle on a little chili powder - I put it on everything and it would add a bit of mole' flavor.

It also could start a NAFTA conversation....

light it on fire!

actually, I changed my mind. While lighting the cocktail on fire sounds like it would kick some ass, it could really be taken the wrong way.

Calm down @25 not every drinks need alcohol

If you have to ask, "Is it racist?" then it's not nearly racist enough to dwell over. And actually I think it's clever and possibly quite delicious.

@42, yeah, what are you, some kind of Klansman? Are you going to put a BURNING CROSS in it? Sheesh.

It's not a cocktail, it has no booze in it.

Furthermore, it's only racist if they have a Boehner on the menu, orange juice, milk, cream and float flakes of gold leaf ("donated" from ExxonMobile) on top.

@1 has it. If you just kicked someone's ass/legally killed someone who had it coming/otherwise took care of serious business, whiskey is the obvious spirit.

Stellas! I miss that overpriced and cramped hole in the wall.

I'm with @4: it's probably racist, but more to the point it sounds terrible. Like the mudslides my chick-friends used to guzzle (while I, ahem, sipped my whiskey) when we were in our early 20's. Just like that, only alcohol-free.

Sounds delicious!

@36 is an imposter! I demand to see the birth certificate!

Well.....I knew a black/white couple with a kid. For Halloween, the dad dressed up as coffee (black leotard), the mom dressed up as milk (white leotard) and the kid had a black leotard with a fluffy white wig to cover her pale brown dreds. Kid had a great time swanning around town saying, "I'm a latte!!!" Not racist, by virtue of the fact that the concept was previously embraced by a small-town, interracial family. So, there.

Blood. Add human blood.

I think it should be crystal clear, with lots bubbles. His thinking is crystal clear (Vodka) and he's got a wicked sense of humor (mineral water) though held back with a twist. Did someone way "Obama Martini"?

Wow, Dan. Google sponsored an It Gets Better ad during Glee.

https://twitter.com/#!/JoeMyGod/status/6…

And here it is. I don't know about the audio part, but I didn' t find it essential to follow it. Nice!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7skPnJOZY…

It's "racist" in that it acknowledges the color of his skin (or, the respective colors of his parents' hides), but I can't see where acknowledging that skins come in different colors equates to racial prejudice. A lot of folks have a hard time understanding that.

However, the real story here is that they're clearly biased against the proud birther community in including the macadamia nut in there!

All the idiots saying to add alcohol, he's a secret muslim, duh.

If you added a small dash of ancho chilli pepper, it would add a lot to the chocolate, and give it a little touch of badassery.

I voted racist. Inoffensively racist.
(I'm white - so technically I don't have the authority to say what I just said)

I voted not racist, though some comments here have made me second guess myself. Hard to say whether this is celebrating diversity or reducing Obama down to his race.

I think it's mildly racist but in more of an "objectifying a biracial person by comparing them to a coffee drink you want to sip on" way than a "reducing a person to their race" type of way. If I imagine telling a biracial person about this drink, it seems like a convo that could easily turn uncomfortable, you know?

I voted "racist" because it is. But all "racism" is is consciousness of race. This drink is evidence of that. It sounds kind of tasty.

Btw, I say add vodka and Kahlua.

How can a drink be racist? Because it uses brown and white ingredients? By that definition, chocolate milk is racist.

@62 - And speaking as a biracial person, the drink doesn't make me uncomfortable. People thinking that I would be offended by this drink, they make me uncomfortable. It's just a drink. It doesn't warrant a racist vote, or this much discussion.

@65 Nailed it.

The idea that this might be racist is racist.

In other words, some people need to calm the fuck down.

@54 If it were a martini it wouldn't have vodka in it, it would have gin. Next you're going to tell me you make margaritas with that abomination called "margarita mix".

#52 I knew a black couple that dressed for Halloween as Hershey bars, one with nuts, one without.

Racism is a categorical and institutionalized disadvantaging discrimination based on "race", and ill-defined, entirely-socially-constructed (albeit the constructions usually include some physical characteristics as racial cues) identity category (Is it appearance? Parentage? What "races" are there? Where does one draw the boundaries?). For something to be "racist", then, it must either result from racism (an act of anti-Hispanic bigotry against a Hispanic man is "racist" in a context where it is informed by institutionalized discrimination against Hispanics) or reinforce a system of racism (e.g. terror campaigns against Black people waged by the KKK). Acknowledging that people recognize and identify themselves and others using "race" categories, is not intrinsically racist (unless one wishes to argue the position that the very act of constructing racial categories creates privilege differentials and institutionalizes them), e.g. observing that Obama is "mixed-race". That said, I think one could argue the drink thing either way, and it's not necessarily a binary choice - it could be both racist in some ways and not-racist (or even anti-racist) in others, and it likely comes down to how the drink's name is constructed by each person in hir particular context. While there doesn't seem to be any direct harm/discrimination against Black or mixed-race persons that results from naming a light/dark blended coffee drink "The Obama", there may be validity to the suggestion that it serves to institutionalize problematic racial dynamics. For example, some are suggesting that it reduces Obama to a racial object primarily or only, reinforcing a system that recognizes not-White people as first and foremost a product of "race". On the other hand, one might argue that making visible/bringing to the forefront the mixed-race identity/grouping of our president, a powerful public figure, serves as a direct challenge to harmful stereotypes that inflect the construction and understanding of racial categories, and is therefore anti-racist. Ultimately it comes down to how someone experiences the drink name in relation to extant institutionalized systems of racial discrimination.

Personally I don't find it any more racist than validating the social categories of "race" in the first place by recognizing them, and since most people don't consider that to be intrinsically racist, I'm going with not racist.

:-/ First sentence should read "...an ill-defined, entirely..."

@Horstman - Too many words. Hurts brain. Here is simpler:

Racism begins with the belief that A) "Race" exists in the first place, and that B) it has some significance. All that institutional stuff is secondary.

This drink is predicated on an awareness of Obama's "bi-racial" identity. To that extent, it is racist. It is not necessarily malignant.

And like I said before, I think with a little tweaking, it could be a nice addition to the Mudslide/White Russian family of refreshing adult beverages.

The Donald is racist!

Since we are talking of race, beverages, and costumes...I knew a couple of Isrealis who went for Halloween dressed head to toe in orange: Orange Jews.

No?

@74 - I hear that there are Kinky Jews that live in the forests of South America and eat mostly fruit and flowers.

I voted that it was not racist. But I do get @4's point that it focuses solely on race. As a personal test, I tried to think of what kinds of cocktails would be appropriate for other presidents. The first that came to mind was that JFK's would include Jameson's -- again, a reference to his ethnic heritage. The only other one I could think of was an Adios Motherf***er for Ronald Reagan. Not because of my personal beliefs about his politics but because when I drink them I get blacked out drunk and can't remember a thing.

I guess it all depends on whether they have one called The Reagan or The Clinton or not. I'd really like *not* to drink something called "The Bush", thankyouverymuch.

Kahlua and Hangar One Wheat (for his Kansas grandparents) Vodka.

Plus acknowledging race is not always racist. The President's race and unique upbringing are part of the delicious mix that makes him the guy so many voted for.

@44 um, where does something become "racist enough to dwell over", exactly? i'd rather think all instances of maybe racist through just in case, you know?