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November 01, 2008

Obama on being a beneficiary of racial preferences

Ethel C. Fenig
Despite promises of transparency and openness, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has deliberately been opaque about his past and beliefs, carefully crafting his own story in his autobiographies The Audacity of Hope and Dreams From My Father while sealing his own academic records and often voting a noncommittal "present" as an Illinois state legislator. 

Instead of questioning him and demanding the promised transparency and openness, the media have gone along with Obama, devoting their investigative passions to his opponents' alleged sins, eg, the maternity of Governor Sarah Palin's Down Syndrome child and Senator John McCain's alleged mistress.  Coming up empty, they accepted Obama handouts without question while continuing to entertain the most outrageous speculations about McCain and Palin. 

And Obama's past associates, if they are troublesome like proud terrorist Bill Ayers, minimize their connection to him while the good guys praise him, wanting to get into the action of pride by association and publicly prove that they were way ahead of the rest of America

In five days, Senator Barack Obama '91 could become the first African-American and the second Harvard Law School graduate (after Rutherford B. Hayes, Class of 1845) to be elected  President of the United States.

The Harvard Law Review  finally decided to reprint five days before the election, "Record Retrospective: Obama on affirmative action - Election, 2008" a letter by then Harvard Law Review president Barack Obama  about his personal experience with affirmative action. 

It is one of the only items publicly available from his (law) school days;  even though he was Law Review president he apparently published little or no law research. 

The original

letter was published in Volume 91, Number 7 (November 16, 1990) of the Harvard Law Record

nearly 18 years ago. 

Apparently the letter was prompted by student Jimmy Chen who disagreed with affirmative action and complaints that not enough women were chosen for the august Harvard Law Review. 

I'd also like to add one personal note, in response to the letter from Mr. Jim Chen which was published in the October 26 issue of the RECORD, and which articulated broad objections to the Review's general affirmative action policy. I respect Mr. Chen's personal concern over the possible stigmatizing effects of affirmative action, and do not question the depth or sincerity of his feelings. I must say, however, that as someone who has undoubtedly benefited from affirmative action programs during my academic career, and as someone who may have benefited from the Law Review's affirmative action policy when I was selected to join the Review last year, I have not personally felt stigmatized either within the broader law school community or as a staff member of the Review.

Hmmm, so Obama admitted long ago that he "has undoubtedly benefited from affirmative action programs during my academic career, and as someone who may have benefited from the Law Review's Review's affirmative action policy" but he didn't feel stigmatized even though he undoubtedly looked different than other Law Review presidents.  Very telling. 

hat tip:  Jay Nordlinger, NRO

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