Obama: Known!

Birthers make a huge deal about Barack Obama’s past being a complete mystery, while at the same time freely filling in their own fictional details. They remind me of the three monkeys, or perhaps

image

In any case, the darkness of Obama’s past is solely due to people not looking. A new biography called Barack Obama: The Story, details Barack Obama’s early life. NPR broadcast an interview this morning with the author, David Maraniss, a Pulitzer Prize winner and currently an associate editor at the Washington Post.

About Dr. Conspiracy

I'm not a real doctor, but I have a master's degree.
This entry was posted in Books and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.

23 Responses to Obama: Known!

  1. JPotter says:

    Also on Meet the Press today. Book comes out Tuesday. Maraniss states he went around the world following his life story, and double-checked details of Obama’s autobiography, and highlights liberties that Obama took in his own story.

    At 9:45 in the clip, birtherism is addressed. It’s implied that the attention the immigration service was paying to Obama Sr. is documented in the book, and Maranis states there’s no chance Obama Sr. left the island. (birthers: “Cruel sadist shipped his teen wife off to Kenya to give birth alone!”)

    The birther reaction will be interesting. I predict complete denial / dismissal (it’s just a campaign ploy!), if it’s acknowledged at all.

  2. Scientist says:

    Here is the NY Times review of the book http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/books/review/barack-obama-by-david-maraniss.html?hpw

    The review contains the following sentence, “The book’s details about a doctor who remembered the case would change the minds of any “birthers” open to factual evidence.” Good luck with findiing a birther open to factual evidence. I wonder whether this was Dr West or Dr Sinclair. Perhaps Maraniss has found some new evidence, even on this well-trod ground. He is a first-rate reporter, so that is not at all unlikely.

    To “foreigner” and those who claim, “Everything about Obama is hidden” all I can say is: “Go away and read the damn book!”

  3. The statement is bizarre. It implies there is such a thing as non-factual evidence. I think they are engaging in DoubleSpeak. I call that BS.

  4. brygenon says:

    Of course the problem was never the mystery; it’s what we can tell about Obama at a glance. We should stop and question this guy because, well, he just doesn’t look like he belongs in this neighborhood.

  5. Keith says:

    brygenon:
    Of course the problem was never the mystery; it’s what we can tell about Obama at a glance. We should stop and question this guy because, well, he just doesn’t look like he belongs in this neighborhood.

    And its OK, because there is, you know, a “stand your ground” law in these parts.

  6. Majority Will says:

    Scientist: To “foreigner” and those who claim, “Everything about Obama is hidden” all I can say is: “Go away and read the damn book!”

    “foreigner” was here over a year ago asking the exact same asinine questions repeatedly with zero regard for the replies which would make the poster truly lazy and willfully ignorant or perhaps just extremely slow. Or all three. Trolls are a sad enigma.

  7. misha says:

    Scientist: Good luck with findiing a birther open to factual evidence.

    Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl made false statements… CNN got a hold of him and relayed his response: apparently it was “not intended to be a factual statement”…

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/12/jon-stewart-rips-jon-kyl-planned-parenthood_n_847920.html

    Good luck with findiing a conservative open to factual evidence.

  8. JPotter says:

    A President from Hawaii

    Hey, Doc, having noted WND is pushing a book or two coming out before the election (got to feed the faithful!), and this new Obama bio coming out, that got me thinking, where’s all the big election year campaign books? Searching Amazon for Obama and sorting by pub. date, I found a lot of the usual suspects …. and this beautiful birthercidal gem! A cutesy, kiddy photo album! LOL! Due out Aug 14th, perfect for gift-giving … to certain people.

  9. Keith says:

    O

    JPotter:
    A President from Hawaii

    Due out Aug 14th, perfect for gift-giving … to certain people.

    Hey Cool! Speaking of gift-giving, that’s my birthday! 😎

  10. Lani says:

    A President from Hawaii is a beautiful children’s book. I’ve given some copies to elementary school classrooms in Hawaii.

  11. Speaking of birthdays, June 14 was the birthday of Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Donald Trump.

    Keith: Hey Cool! Speaking of gift-giving, that’s my birthday!

  12. Stanislaw says:

    Majority Will: “foreigner” was here over a year ago asking the exact same asinine questions repeatedly with zero regard for the replies which would make the poster truly lazy and willfully ignorant or perhaps just extremely slow. Or all three. Trolls are a sad enigma.

    foreigner is one of those birthers who forgets that the rest of us are smarter than he is. That’s the type of birther who’ll post comments here, get smacked down for lying and fabricating, wait six months to a year and then come back and repeat the same comments over again. They spend so much time in the echo chambers of Free Republic and WND that they have no idea how to respond when people refute their nonsense with fact and logic.

  13. JPotter says:

    Lani: A President from Hawaii is a beautiful children’s book. I’ve given some copies to elementary school classrooms in Hawaii.

    Thanks for the review! I see it is a 2nd edition! But, strangely, the 2009 is listed as 24 pages, the one coming in August is 24 pgs? Same author, so I assume it’s an update of the same material, but why so much shorter?

    Also good to know it’s a great kid’s book, in addition to being a great poke in the eye of birthers. (*ahem*)

  14. donna says:

    Speaking of birthdays, June 14 was the birthday of Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Donald Trump.

    Hawaii Territory was organized on June 14, 1900, remaining a territory for 59 years.

  15. justlw says:

    JPotter: I assume it’s an update of the same material

    To launch their new “WND Kidz” imprint, Farah acquired the distribution rights. The new edition is titled “A President from Hawai’i?

  16. JPotter says:

    justlw: WND got the reprint rights. The new edition is titled “A President from Hawai’i?

    Touché! No wonder it’s so much shorter … all the evidence is missing!!! 😉

    Note, my comment above should have said the 2009 edition was 64 pages, according to Amazon …. argh. Ruined a great joke.

  17. Keith says:

    Dr. Conspiracy:
    Speaking of birthdays, June 14 was the birthday of Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Donald Trump.

    Oh, Gawd! That’s my wife’s birthday too!

    I bet we drank better wine than the Donald did! And dined with better friends than the Sheriff did.

  18. HellT says:

    JPotter: Thanks for the review! I see it is a 2nd edition! But, strangely, the 2009 is listed as 24 pages, the one coming in August is 24 pgs? Same author, so I assume it’s an update of the same material, but why so much shorter?

    This is pre-publication data, which by definition can’t be considered reliable. In this case it’s most likely a data entry error originating from the listing in the publisher’s catalog. Until the book is in hand, any description of it – even the publisher’s description – is nothing more than guesswork.

    This makes life hell for libraries and book collectors, who are sometimes intent on acquiring a specific edition or printing. If the descriptive data isn’t correct, you can end up being the proud owner of something that is not different from what you already own. Whoops.

  19. JPotter says:

    HellT: This is pre-publication data, which by definition can’t be considered reliable. In this case it’s most likely a data entry error originating from the listing in the publisher’s catalog. Until the book is in hand, any description of it – even the publisher’s description – is nothing more than guesswork.This makes life hell for libraries and book collectors, who are sometimes intent on acquiring a specific edition or printing. If the descriptive data isn’t correct, you can end up being the proud owner of something that is not different from what you already own. Whoops.

    Yes, thanks for the reminder, HellT. Having worked in publishing, having sold books through Amazon (and made many corrections / additions to their catalog!), I know exactly what you mean. Still, have to take it at face value. Goping from 64 to 24 pages is surely an error. Finally, it’s nice to see positive books coming out in an election cycle. Hopefully, they’ll re-issue Obama’s children’s book, and he’ll put out another or three.

    On a humorous note, a couple Obama-bashing books from conservative presses are scheduled to be issued in paperback …. after the election! They’re banking on a second term? If Romney wins, they’ll bomb worse than the post-LFBC WTBC? did.

  20. Thomas Brown says:

    Keith: Oh, Gawd! That’s my wife’s birthday too!

    I bet we drank better wine than the Donald did!

    No doubt. Birther whine is always made from sour grapes.

  21. JPotter says:

    Remember playing the Amazon Rank game?

    Barack Obama: The Story is at #24
    Dreams of my Father (hardcover) is at ~#13,400, after 17 years in print. New 1st editions start at $1,500.
    Where’s the Birth Certificate? is hanging tough at ~#46,000, and can be had for as little as $2.50.

  22. Lani says:

    JPotter: Yes, thanks for the reminder, HellT. Having worked in publishing, having sold books through Amazon (and made many corrections / additions to their catalog!), I know exactly what you mean. Still, have to take it at face value. Goping from 64 to 24 pages is surely an error. Finally, it’s nice to see positive books coming out in an election cycle. Hopefully, they’ll re-issue Obama’s children’s book, and he’ll put out another or three.

    It was always a brief book – not many pages, and definitely not 64. But they are filled with beautiful pictures, photos of Hawaii and of Obama, particularly as a little boy in Hawaii. Lots of information about Hawaii, aloha, protecting the aina, and so forth. Nice introduction to Hawaii for mainland children.

    I live on a neighbor island with a lot of challenges. Keiki here don’t have an understanding of the bigger world and all its possibilities. I took the books to the classrooms to let children see that they can dream big, and their dreams can come true. I lived on the Big Island when Ellison Onizuka died on the Challenger and knew his family well. Despite his tragic death, his life inspired the children to learn and reach for the stars. I’m hoping this book inspires the keikis where I currently live.

  23. Keith says:

    Thomas Brown: No doubt.Birther whine is always made from sour grapes.

    Mine was Dom Perignon and Grange Hermitage. The Don probably drank Annie Green Springs.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.