A 1926 Brazilian science fiction novel about a U.S. presidential election in which a black man and a white woman play major roles has taken on new prominence during the 2008 campaign, thanks to Barack Obama. Monteiro Lobato’s O Presidente Negro takes place in the year 2228, in a dystopian future U.S. where eugenics has become commonplace in a bid to keep the races pure. Evelyn Astor, a feminist candidate, runs for president from the Sabina party. And meanwhile, the incumbent president, a white male, represents not the Republican Party but the Homo Party (for the Latin word for “man.”) The Larry Craig jokes almost write themselves. [Slate]
