Barack Obama was just a toddler when President John F. Kennedy visited Honolulu and declared: “;Hawaii is what the rest of the world is striving to be.”;

It was June 1963, and racism seared the nation. Civil rights marchers had just been attacked by police dogs in Birmingham, Ala. Hawaii was not immune to prejudice, but its multicultural population was much further down the path to tolerance and equality.

For a little “;hapa-haole”; boy with a black Kenyan father and a white Kansan mother, it was a safe haven. No ethnic group here was a majority. Blending came naturally. In many other states, interracial relationships were still outlawed.

“;Barack Obama's father and his mother reached a magical place where an intermarriage between two people of very, very different backgrounds was acceptable,”; said Dan Boylan, professor of history at the University of Hawaii. “;In the state of Hawaii, the idea of a multiracial child is not very new or fascinating or even interesting. It just is. It is just what we all do.”;

And Hawaii was a place where a boy of color could dream big. “;Barry”; Obama was about to come of age politically when Hawaii made a breakthrough on the national political front.

“;He was 13 years old when the first nonwhite governor in the country was elected in front of his eyes,”; said Tom Coffman, author of “;The Island Edge of America: A Political History of Hawaii.”; “;I think it's important to the shaping of one's psychology.”;

Gov. George Ariyoshi's election in 1974 began a succession of ethnically diverse governors in Hawaii. Since then, however, only five other states have elected non white governors: Virginia in 1989, Washington state in 1996, New Mexico in 2002, Massachusetts in 2006 and Louisiana in 2007.

“;There is a very significant difference in the level of trust afforded someone between legislative office and executive office,”; said Coffman, noting a legislator can get away with being “;an interesting character”; while a chief executive has to “;run the show.”;

When Obama announced his quest for the White House, few of his fellow citizens, even in Hawaii, thought he could pull it off.

Not a mixed-race, African-American candidate, with a strange name and a foreign father. Not someone born and raised in Hawaii, that exotic place that some Americans aren't quite sure is part of the United States. Not the top job.

But Obama believed. And his comfort level helped the rest of the country imagine it too.

“;With such ease, with such an unlabored way about him, he sought the highest office in the United States as a member of a non white minority,”; Coffman said. “;I think Barack Obama as a history-changing agent revives that whole sense that Hawaii is a place of special destiny.”;

Chicago gave Obama his political roots, but his personal style and philosophy spring more from these islands. His wife, Michelle, has often said that to understand Obama you have to understand Hawaii.

In a state where everyone is a member of a minority, it's harder to single out any group as a target. Your colleagues come from different ethnic groups. So do your bosses. Your teachers. Your friends. Your relatives.

In this island society, there are so many inter connections. You never know whether the person you're talking to is related to the person you're talking about.

Obama navigated many different worlds, a mixed-race kid in a multicultural society, a black child in a white home, a little American boy living for four years in Indonesia.

Perhaps that helped nourish his civility, stoked his desire for reconciliation. It's reflected in his call to the nation to move beyond its fault lines, its division into red states and blue states, its racial and ethnic schisms.

“;All his instincts are about bringing people together, splitting the distance between our differences, respecting one another regardless of disagreement,”; Coffman said. “;Those are all standard island themes that we take for granted, yet they are not what the political culture of the North American continent is all about.”;

Boylan, too, sees Hawaii's style in Obama's demeanor, his unruffled response to provocation.

“;The cool that he has is the surfer's cool, it's the Hawaiian's cool,”; Boylan said. “;Sometimes I've watched and wondered, 'Why doesn't he leap across the table and grab McCain by the throat?' But he doesn't. He has enormous, enormous cool. And I have to say that has something to do with growing up in Hawaii, the laid-back, 'Easy, brah,' Hawaii.”;

Being laid-back can be a drawback. Hawaii has had a hard time being taken seriously. It's known around the world for “;sun, sand and surf.”; That image is not likely to change. But with Obama's election, perhaps there is a chance for the state to revive its role as a crucible for change in the public arena.

Hawaii's congressional delegation helped rewrite the nation's immigration law to make it colorblind in 1965. Hawaii's Patsy Mink, the first Asian-American woman in Congress, wrote the law that leveled the playing field for female students across the country. Hawaii was the first state to require employers to provide health care coverage to their workers. It was the first to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.

“;When you look at Hawaii and how much we've added to the diversity in politics, in many ways, Hawaii is ahead of the curve,”; said former Gov. Ben Cayetano, the nation's first Filipino-American governor. “;The fact that Obama gets elected is an incredibly inspiring sign.”;

The odds were against Hawaii producing a president, such an isolated state with just one-300th of the nation's population.

“;Who would ever have dreamt a potential president would come from one of these islands?”; asked Republican Sen. Fred Hemmings, a McCain supporter who acknowledges the impact of electing a native son. “;That's the promise and dream of America. No matter who you are and where you come from, you can achieve greatness with good old honest hard work and integrity.”;

Big Island Mayor Harry Kim said he feels the same optimism he felt at age 19, when Hawaii became a state in 1959 over the opposition of people who objected that it was majority non white.

“;I thought, boy, if we became a 50th state, we could be so instrumental in making the United States a better country because we could show how things can be done,”; Kim said. “;Here it is the year 2008 and I feel the same way about Hawaii's role. With Obama, we have another stroke at making the world a better place. In Hawaii, we belong to no one people. We belong to the world. You know this world needs it so badly right now.”;

Oz Stender, trustee of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, marvels at how far the United States has come. “;It's a demonstration that the people of this country finally realize that we are one people, no matter what color,”; he said. “;I think it's a wonderful thing and a great tribute to Hawaii.”;

“;The United States has finally arrived,”; he said, then added with a chuckle: “;We in Hawaii have always been there.”;

Barack Obama was shaped by Hawaii. His ascension to the White House will, in turn, shape this country and its place in the world. His victory changes the face of America.