4um: Obama's real family history is mostly myth; Bigamy, violence, drunken crashes, deceit ... the real history of the man who may be America's first black President. Barack Obama's book portrays his father as a Kenyan goatherd who lived the American dream ... the truth, though, is very different

Title: Obama's real family history is mostly myth; Bigamy, violence, drunken crashes, deceit ... the real history of the man who may be America's first black President. Barack Obama's book portrays his father as a Kenyan goatherd who lived the American dream ... the truth, though, is very different
Source: The Saturday Star (South Africa)
URL Source: [None]
Published: Feb 3, 2007
Author: The Saturday Star (South Africa)
Post Date: 2008-05-10 17:45:28 by Jethro Tull
Keywords: None
Views: 1635
Comments: 39

Obama's real family history is mostly myth; Bigamy, violence, drunken crashes, deceit ... the real history of the man who may be America's first black President. Barack Obama's book portrays his father as a Kenyan goatherd who lived the American dream ... the truth, though, is very different, writes Sharon Churcher.(News)

It is a classic story of the American dream made real: an impoverished Kenyan goatherder rising to become a brilliant Harvard-educated economist. On the way he fights racial prejudice at home and corruption at work, survives the heartbreak of a broken relationship and, despite it all, leads the fight to rid Africa of its colonial legacy.

This extraordinary story is told by US presidential hopeful Barack Obama as he recalls the life of the man who inspired him - his father.

Obama's book, Dreams From My Father, is flying off the shelves, exciting and astonishing readers. It is a bestseller, and no wonder - because the story just gets better and better.

Obama is already Democratic senator for Illinois. Now he is in the running to be the first black president in the country's history.

"My story is part of the larger American story," he declared in the electrifying speech that won him his Senate seat just two years ago. "In no other country on Earth is my story even possible."

Many believe Obama is a serious threat to Hillary Clinton's hopes of becoming the Democrats' choice for their next presidential candidate - and his lovingly written account of the debt he owes his father, also called Barack Obama, will do him no harm.

Yet an investigation by The Mail on Sunday has revealed that, for all of Obama's reputation for straight talking and the compelling narrative of his recollections, they are largely myth. We have discovered that his father was not just a deeply flawed individual but an abusive bigamist and an egomaniac, whose life was ruined not by racism or corruption but his own weaknesses.

And, devastatingly, the testimony has come from Obama's own relatives and family friends.

Charismatic and with movie-star looks, Barack Obama Jnr has managed to steal some of Hillary Clinton's most influential supporters in the three weeks since he entered the US presidential race.

The 45-year-old lawyer depicts himself as a fresh voice for voters tired of the divisive rhetoric and self-serving ambition of established politicians on each side of the Democrat-Republican divide.

His campaign to become the first black president is inspired, he says, by his love of the country that allowed his father to triumph against odds.

Barrack Obama Snr started life with the advantage of being able to read and write, but he also felt a profound sense of injustice. His father was a cook for British settlers in Kenya, who demeaningly called him their "boy".

Grandfather Obama sent his son to a missionary school, but after completing his education, the youth could find little work except goatherding in his remote village of Nyangoma Kogela, in the roadless hills of Western Kenya.

At 18 he married a girl called Kezia. But Obama Snr was more interested in politics and economics than his family, and his political leanings had been brought to the notice of leaders of the Kenyan independence movement.

He was put forward for an American-sponsored scholarship in economics, with the idea being that he would eventually use his Western-honed skills in the new Kenya. At the age of 23 he headed for university in Hawaii, leaving behind the pregnant Kezia and their baby son.

Relatives say he was already a slick womaniser and, once in Honolulu, he promptly persuaded a student called Ann - a naive 18-year-old white girl - to marry him. Barack Jnr was born in 1961.

Two years later, Obama Snr was on the move again. He was accepted at Harvard, and left his little boy and wife behind.

Obama Jnr claims that racism on both sides of the family destroyed the marriage between his mother and father. In his book, he says Ann's mother did not want a black son-in-law, and Obama Snr's father "didn't want the Obama blood sullied by a white women".

In fact Ann divorced her husband after she discovered his bigamous double life. She remarried and moved to Indonesia with young Barack and her new husband, an oil company manager.

Obama Snr was forced to return to Kenya, where he fathered two more children by Kezia. He was eventually hired as a top civil servant - and married yet again.

Now prosperous with a flashy car and good salary, his third wife was an American-born teacher called Ruth, whom he had met at Harvard while still legally married to both Kezia and Ann, and who followed him to Africa.

It is alleged that Ruth finally divorced him after he repeatedly flew into whisky-fuelled rages, beating her brutally. He lost both his legs while driving under the influence and also lost his job.

However, this was no bar to his womanising: he sired a son, his eight child, by yet another woman and continued to come home drunk. He was about to marry her when he died in yet another drunken crash when Obama was 21.

Obama's 40-year-old cousin Said Hussein Obama told The Mail on Sunday: "Clearly Barack has been very deeply affected by what he has learnt about his father, who was my father's older brother.

"You have to remember that his father was an African, and in Africa, polygamy is part of life.

"We have assured Barack that his father was a loving person but at times it must be difficult for him to reconcile this with his father's drinking and simultaneous marriages."

Far from being an inspiration, the father whom Obama was coming to know seemed like a total stranger. In his book, he attempts to put the best face on it. His father, he writes, lost his civil service job after campaigning against corrupt African politicians who had "taken the place of the white colonials".

One of Obama Snr's former drinking partners, Kenyan writer Philip Ochieng Ochieng says, however, his friend's downfall was his weak character.

"Although charming, generous and extraordinarily clever, Obama Snr was also imperious, cruel and given to boasting about his brain and wealth.

"He was excessively fond of Scotch. He had fallen into the habit of going home drunk every night. His boasting proved his undoing and left him without a job, plunged him into prolonged poverty and dangerously wounded his ego."

In fact he was a menace to life, said Ochieng. "He was just like Mr Toad (from The Wind in the Willows), very arrogant on the road, especially when he had whisky inside. I was not surprised when I learnt how he died."

Ruth refused to comment on the abuse charges when we tracked her down to the Kenyan school where she now works.

She said: "Barack's father was a very difficult man. Although I was married to him the longest of any of his wives, he wasn't an easy person to be around."

Obama has acknowledged that his father grappled with a drinking problem. But with a gift for words, he has turned it into another component of the myth.

Drink, he says, like drugs, are one of "the traps that seem laid in a black man's soul".

Obama claims that he, too, has been racially abused.

His mother sent him back to Hawaii, where he was admitted to a prep school, Punahau Academy, and lived with his maternal grandparents.

And while there, says Obama, he was tortured by fellow pupils - who let out monkey hoots - and turned into a disenchanted teenage rebel, experimenting with cocaine and marijuana.

Obama says his soaring dream of a better America grew out of his hurt and pain.

Friends, however, remember his school days differently. He was a spoilt high-achiever, they recall.

One of his former classmates, Alan Lum, said: "Hawaii is such a melting pot that it didn't occur to me when we were growing up that he might have problems about being one of the few African-Americans at the school. Us kids didn't see colour. He was easy-going and well liked."

Obama was later admitted to read politics and international relations at New York's prestigious Columbia University, where, his book claims, "no matter how many times the administration tried to paint them over, the walls remained scratched with blunt correspondence about niggers."

But one of his classmates, Joe Zwicker (45) - now a lawyer in Boston - said: "That surprises me. Columbia was a pretty tolerant place. There were African American students in my classes and I never saw any evidence of racism at all."

Family members and acquaintances believe that the real cloud over Obama's life has been the discovery that his father was far from the romantic figure that his mother tried to portray.

A family friend said: "He is haunted by his father's failures. He grew up thinking of his father as a brilliant intellectual and pioneer of African independence, only to learn that, in Western terms, he was basically a drunken lecher."

This ugly truth, say friends, has made Obama ruthlessly determined to use every weapon to succeed, including the glossily edited version of his father's story. "At the end of the day Barack wants the story to help his political cause, so perhaps he couldn't afford to be too honest," said Ochieng. - The Mail on Sunday

The man is a media creation, served up to the political left. He'll be beaten in the Fall. Hillary is right; she is the better candidate against McCain. (1 image)

Obummer, the racial healer. Are these PILES delusional? America's race industry is a brillion dollar a year industry, financed by our government, beginning w/LBJ. Obummer will no more dismantle that than he will remove our troops from Iraq.

Not to mention this is their big meal ticket, their wildest life long dreams come true, perfect cover (so they thought heheheh) and POWER like never before.

The Banksters, through the Council on Foreign Relations, will want to know if you would like a ferret-around as they pound your a**...

He can't be America's first black President. He is half white. He can be the first half black president though.

Um, I dunno about the substance/source of this article (how come no source URL is given, JT?), but the paragraph-long thread title is just ridiculous.

No url because the research library I use is a pay site. URLs aren't available. I can't prove or disprove it, A. If it turns out to be inaccurate, I'll stand corrected.

So the The Saturday Star (South Africa) picked it up from The Daily Mail (UK), and I plucked it from High Beam. And the Os wouldn't believe it if it was hand delivered from the Mount because Obama is black and above reproach. So on we go.....

JT, if I am to hold my relatively high opinion of you, then you will have to admit that this, whatever it is that you posted here is WAY beneath any minimal standard that you would want associated with you. The huge and bolded font in the first paragraph... I have NO DOUBT that you can do better. But, I guess, it's hard to take the New York Post out of the New Yorker.

As for the content, what is this about? Obama's momma? Oh... it's about his daddy whose only impact on Obama's life was his constant absence. This is most interesting but, I hope you don't mind if I won't waste my time reading this explosive piece of crap. Or piece of explosive crap.

When I bring an article here I "view source" then cut and paste. The appearance it then takes isn't related to any special effort from me. This article is from at least two mainstream sources, thanks to nola from robin's PC (People's Collective). If the article is inaccurate, tell me where and why.

If you assure me that the huge font in the top paragraph is not your creation, then I am happy. But, by Golly (Golly is supposed to be a place-holder for God, I think) that very hugeness should be a strong indicator that what you posted was crap.

And, getting back to the irrelevance, did you know that there are only 2 degrees of separation between Obama and Hitler?

Now, your turn. Why do you believe that the information included in this piece, even if accurate, is in any way relevant to the 2008 campaign for the US presidency?

It's relevant because of what I consider Obama's peculiar relationship (respect) for what appears to be just another black, dead beat dad.

Anyways, all these 'sensational' pieces about Obama's association don't serve any useful purpose. Obama had no relationship with his daddy and his daddy will have no influence whatsoever in the WH if Obama becomes the prez. Therefore, again, why is this relevant?

As the experienced citizen that you are, do you know ANYTHING about the parents or the grandparents of ANY congressman, US or state senator, state rep, judge... you voted for or against recently?

Maybe you do, and maybe you want to share some of that knowledge with the forum. If you are a New Yorker, maybe you can tell us something about Hillary's parents or Bloomberg's parents or Spitzer's. Inquiring minds want to know.

Who are you to determine what is relevant or not? I'd like to know if burrrrack was *ever* beholden to government largess, thanks to dad splitting back to the Motherland. Do you know? If yes, perhaps that's why he loves large central government.

This thread is limited the Kenyan dead beat. If you'd like to discuss Spitzer or Hillary toss up a thread.

Copycat of Aristeides, when he has to punt, he Punts "Hitler" as that is always a winner.

Are the Os now of the mind that the Socialist's dead beat dad's boogie back to Kenya is off limits? My goodness how they despise open discussion and free speech. About the article I posted? The two complaints have been the visual appeal and the wording of the headline. Not a word about the veracity. Their adoration of this black racist is astounding.

Of course I am trying to determine what is relevant or not. I am always doing it for myself and, this being a discussion and debate site, I am expressing my views. Do you suggest that I should not express my view that this obvious piece of crapola is irrelevant? You are free to counter my argument that, lacking any past or present relationship between Obama and his daddy, his daddy is not relevant. But, if you wish to advance that popular psychology theory of yours that Obama's fugitive daddy can explain Obama's views on big governments... go ahead and make a fool of yourself. What I suggest, if you wish to oppose or criticize Obama's views on big govrenment, you should actually discuss Obama's views on the bigger government and compare them with those of his adversaries. I'm not sure that applying Aunt Jemima's theory of the subconscious to Obama's political makeup could do much to clarify the situation because said theory has no history of predicting politicians future behaviors based on their daddies past.

Let's think of Hitler's, Stalin's, Lenin's, Pol Pot's, Osama's or Jim Robinson's dads. Please find ONE hint of future behavior that you can derive from their daddies' past.

Like I said, you're grasping at thin straws. Clearly, you can't explain why Obama's momma has anything to do with a future Obama presidency because there is no science that you could use to support that (see above).

Like I also said, if you really want to cut the jugular, run to Hitler. Strong and close connections between Obama and Hitler can and SHOULD be documented.

Obama's family in Kenya watches U.S. election.(AFRICAN AFFAIRS)(Brief article)

And, don't forget, OSAMA too watches the U.S. election. And so do a bunch of black death-row inmates who hope that, once elected, Obama is going to pardon them and include them into his cabinet.

Keyes, Obama sound off about bin Laden tape Candidates tour suburbs Saturday, rally support as race enters final days.(News)

So OBAMA is going to hunt down OSAMA who like al Qaeda is a creation of our government.

Good, given that you've lost the Obama's momma topic, let me take your baits and switch.

And... how exactly is Al Queda a creation of our government? I believe I missed that briefing.

My friend, it's you who are trying to switch topics. As far as I can see, you were unable to back your hypothesis that an absent father causes his son to favor big government if the father is from Kenya.

And you also failed to show how the information on Obama's daddy is in any way relevant. This may be news to you but my impression is that you are already aware of Obama's views on big government and you didn't need his father to have them revealed to you. Do you suggest that there are any secret plans in Obama's mind that you could deduce based on his dead and estranged father past behavior?

If you can't do any of the above than, I am sorry to say, the debate is closed and you lost it. You failed to provide any explanation of why this article is in any way interesting or relevant to the presidential (s)election process.

McCain hangs out with mass murderer George Bush. George Bushes helped kill Kennedy. At least Obamas dad was just getting some pussy instead of murdering Kennedy.

It would be entertaining to see a Hillary or McCain commercial warning voters to nix Obama because Obama's dead daddy, that he last met when he was 1 or 2 years old, did the hanky panky while Obama was raised by his granny. Please let me know if you see such a commercial. I'm sure it would be a game-changing classic.

Seriously, if you believe that there is some correlation between the behavior of estranged parents and their offspring's ideology, you are welcome to cite some evidence. Since you suggest that the former somehow predicts the latter, you must explain how the they relate or correlate and produce some historical data that backs the theory. Like, every time the absent daddy was German and Nazi, for example, the son of daughter became communist or fascist or zionist politicians or were notoriously big spenders or fiscally conservative.

I just did. Obama was eating at no charge thanks to the US taxpayer while, at the same time, attending a trendy private school in Hawaii.

Dear, remember, you are to support the theory that absent dads who are promiscuous, Kenyan and irresponsible disqualify their offspring for the US president job because... I don't know... it's so... complex :))))))))

Now you seem to be introducing some nutritional variables to the theory and maybe one or 2 Welfare queens. But... you seem to have it all under control and completely thought out so, how about you do some kind of a graph or diagram to resemble Hillary's health care plan so that the rest of us can get it right?

Maybe, you can point, on this graph, where we can find the dad, the good nutrition, the Welfare queens and, of course, where is Obama?

Unlike British broadsheets, the British tabloids are most famous for the topless Page 3 girl, rather than serious journalism. They are not usually described as akin to Jesus delivering the sermon on the mount.

The Daily Mail is known to critics in the UK as The Daily Heil. Back in the day it supported Adolf Hitler.

The Brit tabloids bring back fond memories of my years in the UK and seeing the page three girl.

The British tabloids are their own brand of journalism. Whereas American tabloids have occasionally broken news stories but are seen more as celebrity gossip bastions, the British tabloids jump on news stories with the same ferocity as they pounce on celebrity gossip. The result is an eclectic mix of hard news with unique (often anonymous) sourcing and traditional tabloid sleaze. And since tabloids are open to paying good money for story information, they're likely to get scoops that the traditional broadsheets miss -- though raising ethics questions at the same time. It's a cutthroat second dimension of journalism that draws a rabid following both across the pond and around the globe.