October 9, 2012

Old Interview Sheds New Light on Obama's Debate Flop

By Jack Cashill
In February 2001, Julieanna Richardson, as part of an oral history on black Americans called "History Makers," interviewed Barack Obama at length.  Although the 10,000-plus-word interview offers no Eureka moments, it does help demystify Obama's debate failure and deepens the doubt that he uniquely authored his own memoir, Dreams from My Father.  Kudos to attorney Barron Sawyer for bringing this interview to light. Richardson seems to capture the 39-year-old state senator as he was -- cautious, ambitious, and more than a little vain.  Given his ambitions, Obama confined his discussion to topics that would not derail his political career.  When asked about his influences, for instance, he did not mention Frank Marshall Davis, his communist mentor from Hawaii, or any of the other communists and fellow travelers he cited in Dreams, like Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, W.E.B. DuBois, and Frantz Fanon. Off the cuff, here as always, Obama did not impress.  His...(Read Full Article)