Before 2008, every president of the US had been a white male. In they election not only did the first African-American man run for president, but the first woman did too. This opened a window to men and women of all races. Barrack Obama was not only the first African-American president, he was also the first to not come from British, Germanic, or Irish decent. Thirty seven presidents were either from British or Irish decent and the others were German.