Having nothing but discouraging news for Obama worshippers, many reporters are turning to his past to explain their messiah.
How Hawaii Upbringing Shaped Obama
Hawaii is about the forces that shaped him, and Chicago is about how he reshaped himself. Chicago is about the critical choices he made as an adult: how he learned to survive in the rough-and-tumble of law and politics, how he figured out the secrets of power in a world defined by it, and how he resolved his inner conflicts and refined the subtle, coolly ambitious persona now on view in the presidential election. Hawaii comes first. It is what lies beneath, what makes Chicago possible and understandable.
Will Obama learn to survive the rough and tumble world of law and politics? Will he learn the secrets of power? Will he resolve his inner conflicts and refine the subtle, coolly ambitious persona now on view? Tune in tomorrow for....
What Barack Learned From His Father
In Obama's case, yet a third thing is true: he had to find a way to be comfortable in his own skin, reconciling his black and white ancestries while being raised largely by his white grandparents. Without a father, he was forced to arm himself and to make his own way into the worlds he chose to join and to master. This is not to say that he did not love and respect his mother and grandparents, and appreciate their care. It is, rather, that, through no fault of their own, their care was simply not commensurate with his needs. He grew up in a milieu of unspoken truths, unacknowledged complexities and hidden histories.
Next up: Giving Up FlipFlops--Obama at Columbia.
Aug 24, 08 11:12 AM