Reprising Geraldine Ferraro

Although it seems like only a lifetime ago, it was in March of 2008 that Geraldine Ferraro caused an upheaval by suggesting Barack Obama's Presidential campaign was helped by the fact that he was black.  Earnest libs rushed to explain that Obama's historic, transformative candidacy would have been even stronger if it were neither historic nor transformative, and we all had some fun.

And why do we mention this?  In the course of a NY Times Magazine fawning over the Obama marriage we find this powerful rationale for Obama's candidacy, as offered by Obama himself in a 2006 strategy session:

Two years after the Senate race, despite lingering reservations, [Michelle Obama] helped her husband define his reasons for running for president. On an autumn day in 2006, the Obamas sat in the Chicago office of the consultant David Axelrod, surrounded by advisers, weighing whether Barack should move forward.

“What do you think you could accomplish that other candidates couldn’t?” Michelle asked, according to Axelrod. The question hung in the air. Clearly, an Obama agenda would not look very different from that of Hillary Clinton or John Edwards.

“When I take that oath of office, there will be kids all over this country who don’t really think that all paths are open to them, who will believe they can be anything they want to be,” Barack replied. “And I think the world will look at America a little differently.”

Obama continues to show up as a black man for work each day many days but the magic seems to have faded a bit.  "OK, you lost your job, but we have a black President" has not yet proven itself as a winning message. 

TIME PASSAGES: The NY Times drills deep on the question of Barack's book, "Dreams From My Father".  Here is their mysterious timeline:

For the moment [in the period immediately after Bill Clinton's election in 1992], he was enmeshed in writing his memoir, “Dreams From My Father.” He had retreated to Bali for several weeks to work on the manuscript and was still preoccupied with it after his return. “Barack was just really involved in the book. [Michelle] and I would do lots of shopping and movies,” Yvonne Davila, still a close friend, remembered.

And a bit later:

In 1995, a State Senate seat was opening up, and Barack, then 34, announced his candidacy. “It allowed me to get my feet wet in politics and test out whether I could get something done,” he told The Times two years ago. Because he wasn’t from Chicago, had degrees from two elite schools and a background that others found odd, a friend said, he felt he had to begin by running for a relatively modest office.

As the Obamas sat with friends around their dining room table, eating Michelle’s chili and planning the run, she was plainly hesitant. “She was very open about not wanting to be in politics,” Davila said. Michelle had always wanted to be a mother, three years had passed since their wedding and now her husband — with his all-consuming memoir just finished — would be gone several days a week. Michelle “just wasn’t ready to share,” Carol Anne Harwell, who became the campaign manager, recalls.

Hmm, working on the book in Bali in 1993, finishing it in 1995.  In his new biography of the couple  Christopher Andersen reported that, at Michelle's behest, Barack took his outlines and notes to Bill Ayers for editorial assistance in 1994. Did the Times reporter ask about that?  What, and spoil the moment?

Comments

[Jim Ryan]

"many days" is broken, Tom.

[Is there anything about this man and this media that is not fake?]

Bali High, keeps calling.
==============

[osıɔɹɐu]

That was the election, where he spent more time disqualifying the candidates on the ballot rather than actually running for the race, is that right

[From government spending on cars and houses. Yeah, that'll work.]

We've got a bubble recovery.
================

[tea anyone]

You know how misty, water-colored memories can be.....whether writing memoirs or remembering when memoirs were written. Want more (probably not). Whether memories of writing memoirs were remembered or imagined. I say enough already.

[tea anyone]

D#@%, another post swallowed, though that one probably deserved it.

[Sue]

tea,

Most of the time, the post isn't eaten, just disappeared in typepad hell for a short period of time. It reappears at the most unexpected time.

[No One You Know]

Imagine, if you will, some guy named Barry O'brien, from the Gold Coast of Chicago. Does he get the Dem nomination for President with the same resume as Barack Obama? Heck, does he even get elected councilman in Chicago? Want to work back further still? I'm thinking he doesn't get in to Harvard Law. Probably doesn't get in to Columbia.

[jazz & cocktails]

"When I take that oath of office, there will be kids all over this country who don’t really think that all paths are open to them..."

somewhere i've seeen that meeting described before, but Obama said something to the effect of "when they see my face..."

i can't find it now tho, but it makes explicit what is only implicit in the quote in the Times article...

[Janet]

The comment is in purgatory

[Jack is Back!]

Because he wasn’t from Chicago, had degrees from two elite schools and a background that others found odd, a friend said, he felt he had to begin by running for a relatively modest office.

...and a background that others found odd...

Now what could that be? Designing women's belts?

[fdcol63]

I just find it odd that a 31 year old would write an autobiography or a memoir.

He hadn't yet had much of a career, and had only been out of Harvard Law School about one year.

Who did he think was really going to give a shit about his life's story at that point?

[Ignatz]

--Did the Times reporter ask about that?--

Not much to ask about is there?
Sounds like they actually got something right:
He toils away at it so hopelessly he is still preoccupied with it on his return from Bali in 93, gives it to Ayers in 94 to fashion into a book, and in 95, once it's finished, it no longer consumes Barry wondering what was taking Ayers so long.

[clarice]

Typepad also ate a post of mine--
http://hillbuzz.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/michellecatpeesofa-12.jpg?w=311&h=532>Michelle the Magnificant

[clarice]

Maybe the third time will be a charm:
http://hillbuzz.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/michellecatpeesofa-12.jpg?w=311&h=532> Michelle the Magnificant

[fdcol63]

And a larger question is this:

Why would a large, national book publisher give such a large advance to an unknown 31 year old, fresh out of law school, with no appreciable "history" to write a memoir or autobiography?

The whole thing sounds fishy and contrived.

Almost like he was positioning himself, and being groomed by others, for the office.

[clarice]

fdcol--Odder still that he got an advance for writing it; failed to perform and got an even bigger advance and that the advance was to write a book on race and law and he wrote it about himself.

[PD]

“It allowed me to get my feet wet in politics and test out whether I could get something done,”

Since he didn't get anything done, why'd he run for President?

[MayBee]

fdcol- I think Obama finds himself fascinating.

[JM Hanes]

fdcol63:

"Who did he think was really going to give a shit about his life's story at that point?"

There you have the tie that binds TM's two part post together:

Geraldine Ferraro could just as easily, and accurately, said that Dreams of My Father would have gone nowhere if Obama weren't black.

Rush Limbaugh could just as easily, and accurately, have said that Americans wanted to see a black president do well.

[fdcol63]

Does anyone else find this incongruous?

A young 31 year old black male who rails against the American system because he believes it is so inherently racist that other young black males could never hope to be equal with their white peers, who nevertheless believes that he, himself, can indeed someday become president?

[Janet]

...and a background that others found odd...

"They" had to tidy up his background before the run. Radical beliefs were no problem, but in the Chicago black community the Muslim background might be. That is also why he had to join Wright's church.

[Jack is Back!]

The Once's presidency reminds more and more every day of "Dave" starring Kevin Kline. He's a nobody but he looks like the real President. A substitute. That's what we have - a sub until a real president shows up for 2012. The Once is actually a golfer and speaker who does a little subbing on the side as a President.

[fdcol63]

"Dave"?

No. Obama is more like "The Manchurian Candidate".

[Jane]

fdcol--Odder still that he got an advance for writing it; failed to perform and got an even bigger advance and that the advance was to write a book on race and law and he wrote it about himself.

I've often thought that. It's not like he wasn't the only AA guy around in the '80's.

[JM Hanes]

On a related note, someone recently pointed out that it's perfectly PC for an artist to piss on Christ. Pissing on a picture of Obama, however, would be the ultimate blasphemy -- assuming you could even find an artist who would do it. Thank goodness we have the NEA to rise up in defense of Artistic Expression and the First Amendment.

[JM Hanes]

Jack:

Apparently, he's actually not much of a golfer either.

[Porchlight]

Who did he think was really going to give a shit about his life's story at that point?

Come on, he's half-Kenyan, who doesn't think that fact is utterly fascinating and memoir-worthy regardless of anything he'd actually done at that point?

I mean really, it's not like you have to have any kind of interesting life at all, if you're half-Kenyan. Best-selling memoirs just write themselves. Sort of.

[Janet]

I really think "they" knew he had to clean up his background to be a viable candidate. It gets the drug use out there on his own terms. Islam is mentioned, but trivialized and glossed over.
To write a book is a perfect idea for a candidate with a sketchy background. Admit things, but gloss over them and quickly move on. When they are asked about certain parts, they can say they have already told all about their life in the book.

[Janet]

To add to his list of crap character traits - Obama is also sneaky. In kids, sneaky is one of the worst traits. I prefer an above board trouble maker to a sneaky little liar.

[unɹ puɐ ʇıɥ]

JMH:
Pissing on a picture of Obama, however, would be the ultimate blasphemy -- assuming you could even find an artist who would do it.

Who needs artists?

I've got two words: urinal cakes

[MayBee]

I think it's really interesting nobody wants to name the length of time Obama spent in Bali. It's pretty unusual for a man and his wife, both with new jobs, to just take off for Bali. Especially when it took another 2 years to finish the book.
I'm fascinated by how many perks have fallen into this man's lap over the years.

[clarice]

JMH, Warren Gebert beat you to the draw--
http://iowntheworld.com/blog/?p=4744

[unɹ puɐ ʇıɥ]

MayBee, I think Obama and Plame share a father who was NSA and a luciferian who instilled dreams. He has the goods on anyone he wants which can be sourced to Montreal during a stint in the Peace Corp funneling info via his pal Chayes, though not CIA, he did travel through Prague.

Beware.

[Porchlight]

Tee hee, hit. But remember Plame's dad was CIA, or something.

[clarice]

HEH, Hit--You've really got that paranoid stuff down pat.
(Stay away from the glue pot)

[fdcol63]

Next t hing you know, hit will be telling us that Obama and Ayers are repitilian aliens or something.

Oh, wait. That was Bush and Cheney.

I get so confused. LOL

[centralcal]

Speaking of Obama and his alleged writing talents, Tapper had a tweet with this link discussing excerpts from the Plouffe book.

I found this portion to be especially snort worthy:

"No, we can't cancel anything," Obama interjected. "But I already know what I want to say in this speech. I've been thinking about it for almost 30 years. I'll call [lead campaign speechwriter Jon Favreau] in the morning and give him some initial guidance. And I'll work on this during downtime in the hotel room each night. Don't worry. Even if I have to pull all-nighters, I can make this work."

[JM Hanes]

clarice:

Even the guy who brought up the idea this week beat me to it! Apparently, I'm even further behind than I thought, alas.

[MayBee]

Ha! Hit!

And a snort to porch, too.

[centralcal]

Looks like the DNC is setting the stage and greasing the wheels for voter fraud in Joisey.

Depressingly Predictable says Geraghty

[unɹ puɐ ʇıɥ]

Oh gosh, I almost forgot...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAYBEE!!!!

I hope your day is as fabulous as you are!!!

[MayBee]

central- isn't that hilarious? That is soooo not the way Obama talks.

[bad]

How many birthdayss has Maybee had in 2009?

[centralcal]

Maybee, not only does Obama not talk like that, but I really doubt that he could write a coherent speech (all by himself) no matter how many all nighters he pulled.

btw - Happy Birthday again! (Better slow 'em down MayBee - they're aging you know!)

[MayBee]

Thank you! I was afraid you'd forget my birthday this quarter! xoxoxo

[bad]

btw - Happy Birthday again! (Better slow 'em down MayBee - they're aging you know!)

Maybee will have the awesome advantage of being 120 years old but looking like a HOT 30 year old.

That's power, baby....

[Jane]

So that's how it works. From my calculations Maybe your real age is about 6.
Happy Birthday!

[clarice]

eebyaM,yadhtrib yppah

time to start going backwards in time--XOXOXO or OXOXOXOXO

[fdcol63]

Well, I'm pretty sure Obama has a macro on his spell check to remove all the "aah, aah"'s.

But spell check does nothing for coherence and logic.

[maryrose]

Happy Birthday Maybee! All the best today and everyday.

[Jim Ryan]

Behold her, in all her hideous and wicked frigidity. But beware: Don't look into the eyes.

[bgates]

Geez, Jim. Was that Katie Couric, or did somebody overinflate Nancy Pelosi?

[Sue]

Happy birthday MayBee.

[bgates]

That is soooo not the way Obama talks.

?

64 words, 7 of them "I"; looks about right to me.

[clarice]

Well Couric is just kindly and bi-partisanly sharing with us the bright thought that entered her brilliant head.

[centralcal]

I noticed that evil look too, when I first saw the Gateway post this morning, Jim.

But, since I frequent media sites, it is not an unusual screen capture or still. She almost always has the identical look and crappy hairdo in everyone of them. Once upon a time Katie was called "perky," now she just looks "irk-y" all the time.

[Jim Ryan]

I haven't seen her since the Bush 41 admin, Today Show. It looks like someone's been looking through her head, as Father Merrin likes to say.

[centralcal]

Michelle Malkin has a nifty link . . .

www.stopjarrett.com

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Now what could that be? Designing women's belts?

LOL. Just spent the last 2 minutes cleaning my laptop screen of Diet Coke.

[Jim Ryan]

"Katie Couric" and "ghastly countenance". Should be oxymoronic. Like American National Health Service.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Katie Couric says Rush and Palin are fringe. I say she should look in the mirror if she wants to see what fringe looks like.

[fdcol63]

Katie's so far to the left that her arms are not long enough for her to look into a mirror.

[Jane]

Now we all know I don't have a racist bone in my body but that picture of Valerie Jarrett really looks like a .....

[osıɔɹɐu]

Happy birthday, Maybee, I did have a touch on schadenfreude at the news that REdstone
was 'reorganizing his portfolio' because of
the bad economy, but paying her seven figures a year has to be part of it

[Jim Ryan]

Mel,

Good Lord, they're going after Keith Jarrett now: www.stopjarrett.com

[clarice]

The US Catholic Bishops have just thrown a grenade into Obamacare:
http://www.catholic.org/politics/story.php?id=34735#at

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

ACORN's latest shenanigans:

[peter]

Slide show. Bring barf bag. LUN

[peter]

start of barf slide show here. sorry LUN

[Jack is Back!]

My Belgian wife, who has more natural style than the guy who invented cursive, tells me that Glamour is a very poor fashion magazine. It is in her language "petite bourgeois" and not worthy of her readership. She is a Paris Match lady and since Michelle appeared there she has been devastated. Now she says if she appears in Point de Vue which features only royalty and nobility then she is moving to Iceland. If that happens, the unimaginable will happen here in Niblick's Reach, she will leave with her childhood sled and cancel her subscription.

[Donald]

They're all reptilian aliens. All the presidents all the kings, all the queens, all the big time business people.

David Icke said so. He played soccer. Nuff said.