These are all questions about relatively trivial sums. However, they each cast doubt upon a major Obama campaign narrative element that the media regularly repeats as fact, something that Obama's supporters and the media both consider fundamental elements of the Obama appeal. If the media is going to serve as something more than an echo chamber, they should demand answers on these points. Certainly, Obama's own words and the facts in evidence cast significant doubt on his regular portrayal of himself as a self-sacrificing college graduate and a struggling professional.
- What was his initial yearly salary at Developing Communities Project?
Stories have varied wildly. Jerry Kellman, who hired him and is now a strong supporter, says it was "$10,000 a year and a $2,000 car allowance". Obama himself has given different numbers; his memoir says $10,000 (as well as the car), in his "Wesleyan speech, he gave it as "$12,000 a year plus $2,000 for an old, beat-up car", and when he announced his candidacy for president, it was "a group of churches had offered me a job as a community organizer for $13,000 a year".
However, Ryan Lizza, then at The New Republic, reported that "Jean Rudd of the Woods Fund...had provided Kellman with his original $25,000 to hire Obama". . Ari Berman reported in The Nation that the "[Woods Fund] gave a $25,000 grant to the Developing Communities Project, which hired Obama CBS2 in Chicago ran a story with a document showing that Obama's planned 1987 salary was $25,000, a number that the Obama campaign confirmed whilst insisting that his original salary was $13,000.
So accounts, to put it mildly, vary. This isn't just a minor discrepancy; Obama's entire campaign narrative begins with his tremendous self-sacrifice in taking on what at the time was a reasonable salary for a young college graduate. Either Obama has lied about his starting salary or he has neglected to mention that his salary nearly doubled within 18 months.
- How much was Obama's book advance from Poseidon Press?
The New York Times reported that Obama's first agent (the one he dumped) got him a a second book deal with Random House after the first one with Poseidon Press fell through.
The Times article neglects to mention that Obama received then Random House publisher Peter Osnos describes as a six figure advance "(about $125,000, I am told)" from Poseidon. According to Osnos, Obama would have had to return all or part of the first advance. Did he? And when?
- Where did Obama get $110,000 for the down payment for his 1993 condo purchase?
Obama has said that his and Michelle Obama's "student loan debt was higher than [their] mortgage". This may be less a function of their high student loans than a low mortgage payment; public records show that they put down $110,000 on their three bedroom condo in 1993. Forty percent down will dramatically reduce interest and principal payments. Given that the Obamas didn't have children for another six years, their decision to purchase a larger condo instead of paying off some of those student loans that they constantly complain about doesn't speak much of their money skills.
Regardless of the size of the condo, though, where did they get the money for their down payment? At the time of the purchase, Obama had just signed on with Davis Miner and was living off his smaller advance from Random House to finish his book. Both Obamas constantly emphasize their lowly backgrounds, so their families were presumably not the source. So where did they get $110K for a down payment?
- What were the "loan debt people" calling about?
Michelle Obama tells of the collection calls they used to get from the "loan debt people". Mrs. Obama clearly implies that the family's hardship was caused merely by living in this hellhole that is America, usually right after she mentions their onerous student loans.
However, the Obamas have thus far refused to validate these stories of loan collection, despite requests from Chicago papers, or the source of the debt. Obama's personal loan of $20,000 to his failed Congressional race seems like a very likely culprit for any loan collection calls they might have received. Thus, the Obamas should provide the financial records that validate their claims about bill collector calls, if they exist, and be honest about the source of the debt. Certainly, the loan itself gives lie to the Obamas' stories about their financial hardship due to their being "just regular people"; regular people don't loan themselves large sums of money for rash and obviously doomed congressional races.
- How much did the Obamas borrow for school loans and when were they paid off?
The most trivial, and yet in many ways the most revealing, of the Obama campign distortions involves their incessant invocation of their school loan burdens. Yet the Chicago Tribune has asked them to produce evidence of their school loans and they've not yet complied. Tellingly, they made too much money since 2000 for their loan interest to be deducted, so they can't even prove that they finally paid off the loans in 2003, as they constantly claim.
Obama received a full scholarship to Occidental, which he rejected after two years in favor of Columbia. Did he get a similar deal at Columbia? What grants and loans did the Obamas receive while at Harvard?
Again, these may seem like trivial amounts. However, the Obamas have consistently presented their life story as a rags to riches tale in which they triumphed over the odds just like ordinary people. But they've offered no proof. Given Obama's career reliance on patronage and kingmakers, the reality may be very different from their touching campaign anecdotes.
Jun 16, 08 12:05 PM