Dennis Haysbert Believes His Role On "24" Helped Obama

Long before Barack Obama became a presidential hopeful, the first African-American U.S. president was already in office on the award-winning TV show "24."

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Now Dennis Haysbert, who played that president on "24," likes to believe his portrayal helped pave the way for Obama.

"If anything, my portrayal of David Palmer, I think, may have helped open the eyes of the American people," said the actor, according to the Associated Press.

He added, "And I mean the American people from across the board - from the poorest to the richest, every color and creed, every religious base - to prove the possibility there could be an African-American president, a female president, any type of president that puts the people first."

Palmer always did put the people first on "24." In fact, Palmer made such a good president that people approach Haysbert "every day, almost every hour" and ask him to run for president.

Haysbert recently stopped to eat in a town he called "very wealthy, very white and very Republican" and was again approached.

"I go into this little restaurant with that demographic and a lady comes up to me and says, 'You know, I want to vote for you.'"