Say What, Barrack?

[snopes]

Comment: I was forwarded this in an e-mail and was wondering if this were
true or another Barrack Obama smear tactic.

Say What, Barrack?

By Paul R. Hollrah

Tuning in to C-Span recently, I found myself listening to a speech by
Senator Barrack Hussein Obama, Jr. He was standing in the pulpit of a
black church in Selma, Alabama, and as I studied the body language of the
dozen or so black ministers standing behind the senator, I couldn't help
but be reminded of the little head-bobbing dolls that people used to place
in the rear windows of their 1957 Chevrolets. If their reactions are any
indication, the new "Schlickmeister" of the Democrat Party is actually a
pretty accomplished public speaker.

However, as he spoke, I found my b.s. alarm going off, repeatedly. But I
couldn't quite figure out why until I actually read excerpts of his speech
several days later. Here's part of what he said:

"...something happened back here in Selma, Alabama. Something happened in
Birmingham that sent out what Bobby Kennedy called, "ripples of hope all
around the world." Something happened when a bunch of women decided they
were going to walk instead of ride the bus after a long day of doing
somebody else's laundry, looking after somebody else's children.

"When (black) men who had PhD's decided 'that's enough' and 'we're going
to stand up for our dignity,' that sent a shout across oceans so that my
grandfather began to imagine something different for his son. His son, who
grew up herding goats in a small village in Africa could suddenly set his
sights a little higher and believe that maybe a black man in this world
had a chance.

"So the Kennedy's decided we're going to do an airlift. We're going to go
to Africa and start bringing young Africans over to this country and give
them scholarships to study so they can learn what a wonderful country
America is.

"This young man named Barack Obama got one of those tickets and came over
to this country. He met this woman whose great great-great-great-
grandfather had owned slaves; but she had a good idea there was some
craziness going on because they looked at each other and they decided that
we know that, (in) the world as it has been, it might not be possible for
us to get together and have a child. There was something stirring across
the country because of what happened in Selma, Alabama, because some folks
are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack
Obama Jr. Was born. So don't tell me I don't have a claim on Selma,
Alabama. Don't tell me I'm not coming home to Selma, Alabama."

Okay, so what's wrong with that? It all sounds good. But is it?

Obama told his audience that, because some folks had the courage to "march
across a bridge" in Selma, Alabama, his mother, a white woman from Kansas,
and his father, a black Muslim from Africa, took heart. It gave them the
courage to get married and have a child. The problem with that
characterization is that Barrack Obama, Jr., was born on August 4, 1961,
while the first of three marches across that bridge in Selma didn't occur
until March 7, 1965, at least five years after Obama's parents met.

Obama went on to tell his audience that the Kennedys, Jack and Bobby,
decided to do an airlift. They would bring some young Africans over so
that they could be educated and learn all about America. His grandfather
heard that call and sent his son, Barrack Obama, Sr., to America.

The problem with that scenario is that, having been born in August 1961,
the future senator was not conceived until sometime in November 1960. So
if this African grandfather heard words that ''sent a shout across
oceans,'' inspiring him to send his goat-herder son to America, it was not
a Democrat Jack Kennedy he heard, nor his brother Bobby, it was a
Republican President, Dwight D. Eisenhower.

As one of my black friends, Eddie Huff, has said, "We need to ask some
very serious questions of the senator from Illinois. It's not enough to be
black, it's not enough to be articulate, and it's not enough to be
eloquent and a media darling. The only question will be how deaf an ear,
or how blind an eye, will people turn in order to turn a frog into a
prince."

[Elbe]

i'm an idiot, move along

[snopes]

Originally Posted by Elbe

Who is this talking about?

Barack Obama. He's a senator, and he was born in 1961.

- snopes

[Elbe]

Originally Posted by snopes

Barack Obama. He's a senator, and he was born in 1961.

- snopes

Yeah, I got that now. Reading comprehension is a skill best left for the conscious.

[babyshoes]

Originally Posted by Elbe

Who is this talking about? JFK was born in 1917, Bobby 1925, and Teddy 1932. Is there some other senator Kennedy who was born in 61?

The "future senator" referred to in that sentence was Sen. Obama, who was born in 1961.

ETA: Ouch! I need to type faster.

[Natalie]

Originally Posted by snopes

Comment: I was forwarded this in an e-mail and was wondering if this were
true or another Barrack Obama smear tactic.

Say What, Barrack?

By Paul R. Hollrah

The original column is at http://www.theconservativevoice.com/...=8380#comments, and the last comment has some debunking: "The march to which Obama was referring was not one of the famous MLK Selma marches, which did indeed begin in 1965, but rather, the march by some women (as he specifically mentions) who boycotted the bus in Selma. It took place in 1955... As for the 'Kennedy airlift' reference, that actually happened BEFORE JFK became President. As Obama explained it when Ted K endorsed him, Kenyan authorities seeking funds for student travel were turned down by the US government. They appealed for help to SENATOR JFK, who ultimately got the Kennedy family foundation to put up the money, and indeed Obama's father was one of those who benefitted, in 1959."

And Snopes is referenced in another comment (re: "Gore said he invented the Internet" story)

[Ramblin' Dave]

In light of the recent debate over the term "Democrat Party" in Soapbox Derby, it's noteworthy that this decidedly right-wing source uses that term. The company you keep...

[MollyK418]

The first thing I noticed about this piece is he started off by including Senator Obama's middle name and misspelling his first. I thought, "Gee, this is going to be a fair and balanced piece." It seems to me the far-right takes great pains to hammer Barack's middle name home.

Because everyone knows that your character is controlled by what your name is..

[BamaRainbow]

Originally Posted by Natalie

The original column is at http://www.theconservativevoice.com/...=8380#comments, and the last comment has some debunking: "The march to which Obama was referring was not one of the famous MLK Selma marches, which did indeed begin in 1965, but rather, the march by some women (as he specifically mentions) who boycotted the bus in Selma. It took place in 1955... As for the 'Kennedy airlift' reference, that actually happened BEFORE JFK became President. As Obama explained it when Ted K endorsed him, Kenyan authorities seeking funds for student travel were turned down by the US government. They appealed for help to SENATOR JFK, who ultimately got the Kennedy family foundation to put up the money, and indeed Obama's father was one of those who benefitted, in 1959."

And Snopes is referenced in another comment (re: "Gore said he invented the Internet" story)

Um, WHAT Kenyan "authorities"? In 1959, Kenya was a British colony. Any "authorities" there would have to have gone through British sources before even thinking of approaching an American senator. (Hell, SOP would have mandated that. The British officials would then contact the proper American officials, first through any consulate office in Kenya, then through the US Embassy in London.)
I'm also a bit confused over the "boycotted the bus in Selma" and "in 1955". The "Bus Boycott" in the Civil Rights Struggle took place in MONTGOMERY, not Selma. I have NEVER heard of ANY "bus boycott" having taken place in Selma. (Incidentally, I'm also unaware of the boycott's expanding beyond Montgomery, and I live in Montgomery, which is only 50 miles or so to the east of Selma--which has NEVER made any acknowledgment of any bus boycott in that city. Selma has no problem with acknowledging the rest of its civil rights era history, so failing to honor any Selmans who initiated their own bus boycott seems a bit incredulous.)

[Ramblin' Dave]

Originally Posted by BamaRainbow

Um, WHAT Kenyan "authorities"? In 1959, Kenya was a British colony. Any "authorities" there would have to have gone through British sources before even thinking of approaching an American senator. (Hell, SOP would have mandated that. The British officials would then contact the proper American officials, first through any consulate office in Kenya, then through the US Embassy in London.)

Although Kenya was not officially independent until 1963, direct election of local authorities began in 1957. I don't know exactly what the procedure was during the intervening six years, but there may be some wiggle room here for Obama being correct. Besides, he wasn't there and his father may have misunderstood something that happened at the time. It could be an honest mistake, or he could be right.

I couldn't find any mention of a bus boycott in 1955 in Selma either.

[Ramblin' Dave]

Originally Posted by aranea russus

All I'm doing is laying out the facts. It's up to you to join the dots.

And if you do connect the dots, I will protest loudly that I never, ever meant to imply any such thing and how dare you suggest otherwise??!?!?!?! I'm not a Republican but you Democrats always have to inject hate and racism into the equation, don't you?!?!?!

[Natalie]

Originally Posted by BamaRainbow

Um, WHAT Kenyan "authorities"? In 1959, Kenya was a British colony. Any "authorities" there would have to have gone through British sources before even thinking of approaching an American senator. (Hell, SOP would have mandated that. The British officials would then contact the proper American officials, first through any consulate office in Kenya, then through the US Embassy in London.)
I'm also a bit confused over the "boycotted the bus in Selma" and "in 1955". The "Bus Boycott" in the Civil Rights Struggle took place in MONTGOMERY, not Selma. I have NEVER heard of ANY "bus boycott" having taken place in Selma. (Incidentally, I'm also unaware of the boycott's expanding beyond Montgomery, and I live in Montgomery, which is only 50 miles or so to the east of Selma--which has NEVER made any acknowledgment of any bus boycott in that city. Selma has no problem with acknowledging the rest of its civil rights era history, so failing to honor any Selmans who initiated their own bus boycott seems a bit incredulous.)

He's not talking about a bus boycott in Selma. He's talking about several different incidents at once, and no, he's not doing the best he possibly could to differentiate between the three incidents. But if you agree with snopes' analysis of that particular portion of the speech (http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/saywhat.asp) the bus boycott he's talking about is the Montgomery bus boycott in '55.

And I have no idea what Kenyan authorities that comment referred to. I didn't write that comment, I just quoted it from the comments section of the original editorial.