Patheos

BuddhistCatholicContemplativeEvangelicalGeneral ChristianHinduJewishLatter-day SaintMuslimNew VisionsProgressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Patheos

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos Patheos on Facebook Patheos on YouTube

The People's Sheriff

Obama ran from his biracial roots when he decided to go into politics

Last updated on: May 9, 2017 at 8:01 am   by Sheriff David Clarke, Jr.

Obama ran from his biracial roots when he decided to go into politics 2017-05-09T08:01:14-05:00 Sheriff David Clarke, Jr.

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Image Credit: TravelingMan Flickr

Image Credit: TravelingMan Flickr

David J. Garrow won a Pulitzer prize for his book on Martin Luther King, Jr. and now he’s turned his sites on Barack Obama. His book, called Rising Star, has an interesting tidbit of information in it about the former President’s relationship with a woman he apparently dated… while dating Michelle.

The WaPo reports:

“He shares for the first time the story of a woman Obama lived with and loved in Chicago, in the years before he met Michelle, and whom he asked to marry him. Sheila Miyoshi Jager, now a professor at Oberlin College, is a recurring presence in ‘Rising Star,’ and her pained, drawn-out relationship with Obama informs both his will to rise in politics and the trade-offs he deems necessary to do so.”

What were those “tradeoffs?” Well, Sheila was white. Her parents were fine with her dating Obama. (In fact, a family friend said they considered him to act as white as they did – whatever that means.) But when Obama decided – at the age of 25 — that he had political ambitions, he started to craft himself into a package that would appeal to more people. Make that more black people, probably due to his feeling of inferiority of not being really all black but biracial. He has had this life-long struggle of needing constant validation from black racialists to prove he down with the struggle. Sort of like Hollywood elites who wear torn jeans and other acts of self-flagellation to prove that they are common people even though the jeans they wear cost hundreds of dollars a pair. In the hood it’s called faking the funk.

For Obama, a black guy married to a white woman was not going to sell on Chicago’s predominantly black southside, according to Garrow. “For black politicians in Chicago,” he writes, “a non-African-American spouse could be a liability.” Even though he had proposed to her – and they decided to wait until they were older to be engaged – he cut Shelia off and started dating Michelle. Wonder how Michelle Obama feels knowing that her marriage to Barack is not based on true love but on political ambition, convenience and expediency. Wow.

See, I’m comfortable enough in my blackness that I didn’t have to stick my finger in the air and see which way the racial winds were blowing when I proposed to my wife. I never look at her and see a white woman. But apparently, Obama is so keenly aware of race that he was willing to sacrifice this woman’s relationship on the altar of his ambition.

He  has been on a lifelong chase seeking the approval of others in his unending search for self identity and has struggled forever with trying to figure out who he is.

Garrow’s assessment of the former President is just as scathing. “While the crucible of self-creation had produced an ironclad will,” he wrote, “the vessel was hollow at its core.”

I’d disagree with that assessment. I don’t think he’s hollow at the core. I think he’s full of racial strife, bitterness, insecurity and self-promotion.

David J. Garrow won a Pulitzer prize for his book on Martin Luther King, Jr. and now he’s turned his sites on Barack Obama. His book, called Rising Star, has an interesting tidbit of information in it about the former President’s relationship with a woman he apparently dated… while dating Michelle.

The WaPo reports:

“He shares for the first time the story of a woman Obama lived with and loved in Chicago, in the years before he met Michelle, and whom he asked to marry him. Sheila Miyoshi Jager, now a professor at Oberlin College, is a recurring presence in ‘Rising Star,’ and her pained, drawn-out relationship with Obama informs both his will to rise in politics and the trade-offs he deems necessary to do so.”

What were those “tradeoffs?” Well, Sheila was white. Her parents were fine with her dating Obama. (In fact, a family friend said they considered him to act as white as they did – whatever that means.) But when Obama decided – at the age of 25 — that he had political ambitions, he started to craft himself into a package that would appeal to more people. Make that more black people, probably due to his feeling of inferiority of not being really all black but biracial. He has had this life-long struggle of needing constant validation from black racialists to prove he down with the struggle. Sort of like Hollywood elites who wear torn jeans and other acts of self-flagellation to prove that they are common people even though the jeans they wear cost hundreds of dollars a pair. In the hood it’s called faking the funk.

For Obama, a black guy married to a white woman was not going to sell on Chicago’s predominantly black southside, according to Garrow. “For black politicians in Chicago,” he writes, “a non-African-American spouse could be a liability.” Even though he had proposed to her – and they decided to wait until they were older to be engaged – he cut Shelia off and started dating Michelle. Wonder how Michelle Obama feels knowing that her marriage to Barack is not based on true love but on political ambition, convenience and expediency. Wow.

See, I’m comfortable enough in my blackness that I didn’t have to stick my finger in the air and see which way the racial winds were blowing when I proposed to my wife. I never look at her and see a white woman. But apparently, Obama is so keenly aware of race that he was willing to sacrifice this woman’s relationship on the altar of his ambition.

Obama has deeper psychological struggles than most people realize. He has struggled forever with trying to figure out who he is.

Garrow’s assessment of the former President is just as scathing. “While the crucible of self-creation had produced an ironclad will,” he wrote, “the vessel was hollow at its core.”

I’d disagree with that assessment. I don’t think he’s hollow at the core. I think he’s full of racial strife, bitterness, insecurity and self-promotion.

Uncategorized

Previous Post



May 5, 2017

A liberal talking point about the way black people view crime was just demolished by a Yale prof

Next Post



May 9, 2017 How Ronald Reagan Dealt with Commie Thugs


Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016


Follow Us!

Follow Us on Twitter



TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which disciple is known as 'the Twin'?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Thomas Andrew James Philip

Related posts from The People's Sheriff

Politics Red

3 Words Would've Saved This Guy's Life; Officer...

The People's Sheriff

Politics Red

Kurt Schlichter: The Left Hates You. Act Accordingly.

The People's Sheriff

Politics Red

How Ronald Reagan Dealt with Commie Thugs

The People's Sheriff

Politics Red

A liberal talking point about the way black...

The People's Sheriff

TRENDING AT PATHEOS Politics and Religion

Christians should care about politics. Here are 4...

How can Christians best engage with politics in a way that shows...

For Abortion "Rights" Advocates - a Compromise

For pro-life conservatives, it’s like a dream come true. For pro-choice feminazis...

Cornerstone Pastor Issues Apology - GOOD

The apology was warranted. The follow-up is essential. A week ago, the...

From a Conservative to Conservatives on President Trump...

I am a conservative, a Republican, and an evangelical Christian, and I...

view all Politics and Religion blogs

Patheos on Facebook Patheos on YouTube

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Copyright 2008-2026, Patheos. All rights reserved.

Subscription Support Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In

Follow Patheos Patheos on Facebook Patheos on YouTube