Much attention, and deservedly so, has been placed on Obama breaking the race barrier in the Presidency. The very first African-American president is indeed a fantastic achievement.
But there is another first, sort of, that I think is getting very little attention. As in none. Obama is the first president, again, sort of, with a multi-syllabic last name that ends in a vowel. That's right. Sure, we have had four presidents with silent "E"s at the end of their names:
Monroe
Fillmore
Pierce
Coolidge
They don't count.
And we've had one president, Kennedy, who falls into the "sometimes y" rule. But Obama is the first full-fledged, no questions asked, my name ends in a vowel president. There are some people who do not think this is important. They are probably right. Still....