Why has there never been an Italian-American President?

[Antonio the Sixth]

Has there to be a particular reason?

I don't think there is anything that prevents Italian-Americans from winning elections. An Italian-American nearly won the Bigot Party's primaries.

[Antonio the Sixth]

For God's sake, Van Buren... Van Buren!!! how in the flying hell can someone think he was French?!?

[Antonio the Sixth]

Because most Italian politicians have mob connections and/or are terribly corrupt.

I was going to say 'for very good reasons', the above is more to the point.  people are understandably wary of placing Don Corleone into the white house.  you think the post office is inefficient now?

Phil will be by in 3,2,1.......

Not only Phil. I'd also like to see some evidence before resorting to cheap ethnic stereotyping.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Antonio, despite your treasonous ways, you have every right to feel some anger when you see Lief's hateful comments but don't take it too seriously. He, like many, many others, is incredibly jealous of our ancestral homeland and heritage. Could you blame him?

I am very fond of the English. I enjoyed my trip there a year ago. However, I can't help to notice their poorly veiled condescending tone and condemning attitude whenever they write about Italians on any topic at all. But then it hits me and a smirk creeps across my face. I think, "Look at where they are forced to live. Look at what they have to eat. I'd be extrenely bitter towards and jealous of Italians if I was one of them and forced to compare the two worlds, too!" You have to feel very, very sorry for these people, Antonio. You're still young. One day, you'll learn.

Very good point.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Has there ever been a French-Canadian president? Or even a French president?

Or Portuguese?

Or Dutch?

Or Scandinavian?

Or Eastern-European (like from Russia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania, Greece, etc.)?

Grant, both Roosevelts, and both Bushes at the least have Huguenot ancestors.

The surprise -- in view of their outstanding achievements in politics -- is Jews.

Oh God, so that pathetic narcissistic hypocritical asshole Louis XIV is also responsible for the trainwreck of the Bush Presidency?

[Antonio the Sixth]

For God's sake, Van Buren... Van Buren!!! how in the flying hell can someone think he was French?!?

     Disturbingly many Americans don't know much about other countries. Van Buren is an absurdly obvious Dutch name, but most people won't realize it.

Actually, it could be from Flanders as well, so it's more flemish than Dutch.  (Flemish also being spoken in the part of Belgium that isn't French.)  And while we're at it, there is much confusion between Belgian and French.  I saw a poll in which most of those polled thought that the actor Jean Claude Van Damme was French.  He is actually Belgian.  To be fair, it usually the Walloons of Belgium that we confuse for French, and not those from the Northern part of Belgium, so Van Buren probably wouldn't be thought of as French by any American other than exactly one poster here.  Although, he does spell his first name in an anglicized way, and not Maarten as would be the case in the early 1800s for a truly Flemish speaker.  Also, let it be noted that van Buren was the only US president who had a foreign accent throughout his presidency, and I seriously doubt that any of his contemporaries confused his Dutch-Flemish accent for a French one.  Still, after all we do call french fries French Fries, even though they were invented in Belgium.  Just food for thought.

     I have a deep interest in the variations that exist among European languages, and I still wasn't aware that Van Buren can be Flemish as well as Dutch. With that in mind, it's probably not that strange that someone on the forum would go so far as to mistake it for being French.

Oh come on, Flemish French probably don't make up 1% of the population. It's as if you've got some guy called Lautenberg, Pawlenty, Cuomo or Blagojevich and immediately think he's American rather than German/Polish/Italian/Serbian. It is technically possible, but it's a pretty ridiculous assumption to make.