My Commander in Chief is Black! The Mental Health Significance of Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential Election for Military Veterans

• Published date: 01 July 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X221082211
• Author: Quintin Gorman,Tony N. Brown,Julian Culver
• Date: 01 July 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X221082211

Armed Forces & Society

2023, Vol. 49(3) 846 –865

© The Author(s) 2022

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DOI: 10.1177/0095327X221082211

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Article

My Commander in Chief is

Black! The Mental Health

Significance of Barack

Obama’s 2008 Presidential

Election for Military Veterans

Quintin Gorman Jr.1, Tony N. Brown1,

and Julian Culver1

Abstract

This study investigated the mental health significance of Barack Obama’s 2008

presidential election for military veterans. Many believed his election signaled

a progressive shift in race relations and crucial challenge to White supremacy.

Furthermore, many argued his election generated hope, especially among Blacks.

We therefore hypothesized Black and Hispanic veterans would experience improved

mental health after installment of the nation’s first Black commander in chief. We

also hypothesized White veterans would experience no change in their mental

health. With nationally representative survey data from the Behavioral Risk Factor

Surveillance System (BRFSS), we tested these hypotheses by predicting poor mental

health days self-identified Black, Hispanic, and White veterans experienced preelection

and postelection in fall 2008. Net of established social determinants of health, we

estimated Black and Hispanic veterans, respectively, experienced approximately

2.01 and 2.17 fewer poor mental health days postelection, whereas White veterans

experienced no significant postelection change. Sensitivity analyses seemed to

corroborate these findings.

Keywords

Barack Obama, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), mental health,

military, symbolic empowerment, veterans

1Department of Sociology, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA

Corresponding Author:

Quintin Gorman Jr., Department of Sociology, Rice University, MS-28, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX

77005-1827, USA.

Email: quintin.gorman@rice.edu

1082211AFSXXX10.1177/0095327X221082211Armed Forces & SocietyGorman et al.

research-article2022

Gorman et al. 847

Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential election represented a historic moment causing a

seismic shift in the sociopolitical climate (Coates, 2017; Collins, 2012; Dyson, 2016;

Logan, 2014; Parker, 2016). For the first time, a Black individual won election to the

nation’s highest office. Descendants of enslaved Africans and their allies living in the

United States celebrated what many viewed as real racial progress (Ikard & Teasley,

2012; Parker, 2016; Teasley & Ikard, 2010). History confirms the celebration was

premature. Obama faced race-related opposition while in office and extremism fol-

lowed his departure from the White House, suggesting White supremacy is far more

durable than our nation cares to admit (Bell, 2019; Harvey Wingfield & Feagin,

2013; Stevenson, 2019). Still, in fall 2008, with the world watching, a Black man

gave many hope that racism would retreat (Ikard & Teasley, 2012; Parker, 2016; Pew

Research Center, 2008; Teasley & Ikard, 2010). Many perceived racism would retreat

because Obama orchestrated a colorblind campaign focused largely on reconstituting

the American Dream and building cross-racial alliances (Bonilla-Silva, 2014;

Esposito & Finley, 2009; Moore & Bell, 2010; Rowland, 2010). Yet, support for

Obama varied among civilians, active military service members, and veterans.

For Black and Hispanic active military service members and veterans, we posit

Obama’s 2008 presidential election represented an equally historic moment because

the nation installed its first Black commander in chief. Regarding military-specific

campaign promises in the lead-up to the 2008 presidential election, Obama promised

to (1) end combat missions in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) by August 21, 2010;

(2) add additional forces to Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan; (3) repeal

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”; and (4) modernize the military and increase manpower by

over 90,000 troops (Reuters, 2011; Roberts, 2009). These promises failed to generate

widespread support for Obama among veterans. For example, a Gallup poll adminis-

tered less than three months before the 2008 presidential election showed 56 percent

of 2,238 veterans polled preferred John McCain over Barack Obama (Jones, 2008).

Arguably, veterans expressed mixed feelings toward Obama during his first presi-

dential campaign because of his policy stances.

However, this study does not concern itself with policy stances, substantive rep-

resentation (Pitkin, 1967), or voting behavior. Instead, we theorize Obama as a sym-

bol. We suspect Black veterans held Obama in high esteem because he was the first

Black president and commander in chief in U.S. history. Obama’s installation as

commander in chief was significant because it situated him atop the military’s chain

of command. The chain of command is essential to military culture and identity,

which many veterans retain after separation from the military (Atuel & Castro, 2018;

McCormick et al., 2019; Redmond et al., 2015). In addition, many Black and

Hispanic veterans faced racism while serving in the military (Burk & Espinoza,

2012; Butler & Holmes, 1981; Mariscal, 2010; Parker, 2009). We argue Obama’s

2008 presidential election and installation as the first Black commander in chief

represented a symbolic victory against racism in the larger society and military.

This study investigates the mental health significance of Barack Obama’s 2008

presidential election for military veterans. We invoke symbolic empowerment theory