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There have been a series of misquotes going around again recently from Obama's "Dreams of My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope" that I think warrant a quality response. I had been wanting to directly fact-check these for some time but it's been tough since none are cited by page number (surprise!) so I finally decided to just download an unabridged copy from ebooks.com to assist in the search and went through each one below. I hope that you find this useful in quickly dealing with these emails and posts.
As a side benefit, and not the intent of the original posters I am sure, was the opportunity to re-read and put into context many of the rites of passage I think many of us can relate to in this well-written account that just so happens to be from a great candidate for President. As for the target audience:
- There are some who have already made up their minds and will see what they choose to see regardless of context. This is not for them except to let the posters know they are found out.
- There are others who are equivocating: Democrats or Independents or new voters or Republicans "on-the-fence" who, although they may not find the source of the original taken-out-of-context sound-bites credible, could be left with an impression that may sit in their minds to come back again on election day. This is for them.
- Finally, for those of us who look forward to voting for Barack Obama in November I hope this is a tiny way to take another look at this very insightful and truly American story. This is for you too.
Following are the six (mis)quotes that you've probably seen lined up in a row in emails and postings - each in bold followed by the actual quote and context with paginated citations so that anyone can check for themselves and/or build on this:
Misleading quote: 'I ceased to advertise my mother's race at the age of 12 or 13, when I began to suspect that by doing so I was ingratiating myself to whites' - claimed to be from "Dreams of My Father"
In the paragraph prior to this quote (Introduction: pp. xiv-xv), Obama talks of his mother's 6 year old cousin who had "already lost" his innocence after reporting to his parents that some of his first grade "classmates had refused to play with him because of his dark skin". As you read further you can see the implications of this on Obama's life growing up and why he felt compelled to bring up his mother's race until "the age of 12 or 13":
Actual quote: "When people who don't know me well, black or white, discover my background (and it is usually a discovery, for I ceased to advertise my mother's race at the age of 12 or 13, when I began to suspect that by doing so I was ingratiating myself to whites) I see the the split-second adjustments they have to make, the searching of my eyes for some telltale sign." (Introduction: Page xv)
Fake quote: 'I found a solace in nursing a pervasive sense of grievance and animosity against my mothers race.' - claimed to be from "Dreams of My Father"
I cannot locate this anywhere in "Dreams of My Father" after searching on each key word through an unabridged copy downloaded from ebooks.com. We can simply shoot this one quote down and rightfully attack the credibility of the entire post.
Fake quote: 'There was something about him that made me wary, a little too sure of himself, maybe. And white.' - claimed to be from "Dreams of My Father"
When Obama was still in New York (after graduating Columbia) and at the point of almost giving up on organizing, he gets a call from Marty Kaufman who had "started an organizing drive in Chicago and was looking to hire a trainee." (Story begin on page 140). After talking about Chicago, the Cubs, his organizing efforts, Harold Washington, the South Side community, etc... he offers Obama the job with a small salary and travel expense. When Marty leaves, Obama walks home and thinks about this man and the offer (starting his community organizing days in Chicago):
Actual quote: "He was smart, I decided. He seemed committed to his work. Still, there was something about him that made me wary, a little too sure of himself, maybe. And white - he'd said himself that was a problem." (Page 142).
Later, Obama sits down on a bench to consider his options. A "black woman and her young son approach" and the boy asks him why the East River goes one way and the other. Obama explains the tides. "The answer seemed to satisfy the boy..." "As I watched the two of them disappear into dusk, I realized I had never noticed which way the river ran. A week later, I loaded up my car and drove to Chicago." (Page 143). Obama quickly recognizes that his back and forth on Marty, the situation, etc... is like the East River - it's going to go back and forth no matter what - it's time to act and he does.
Misleading quote: 'It remained necessary to prove which side you were on, to show your loyalty to the black masses, to strike out and name names' - from "Dreams of My Father" (Page 101)
Obama is IN COLLEGE not running through the riot-strewn city streets. He is posing, finding his identity.
How do we know? Prior to this quote he explains the early pressure of fitting in with the so-called campus "radicals" to "avoid being mistaken for a sellout." (page 100). Starting on page 101 right after the quote, he goes through an incident where he is "called out" on this attitude. Thinking back, he realizes that "the whole year seemed like one big lie..." as he then matures beyond this perspective (Page 102).
I am sure none of us copped similar attitudes while in college or in our late teens/early twenties.
Fake quote: 'I never emulate white men and brown men whose fates didn't speak to my own. It was into my father's image, the black man, son of Africa , that I'd packed all the attributes I sought in myself, the attributes of Martin and Malcolm, DuBois and Mandela.' - claimed to be from "Dreams of My Father"
Actual quote: (in context, he is specifically addressing his earlier attitude towards his stepfather and grandfather): "...men I might love but never emulate, white men and brown men whose fates didn't speak to my own. It was into my father's image, the black man, son of Africa , that I'd packed all the attributes I sought in myself, the attributes of Martin and Malcolm, DuBois and Mandela." (Page 220).
In the very next paragraph Obama writes, "Now...that image had suddenly vanished." " To think all my life I had been wrestling with nothing more than a ghost!" as Obama comes to terms with the image versus the reality of his father.
Anyone out there not go through a similar process with their father?
Fake quote: 'I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.' - claimed to be from "The Audacity of Hope"
Actual quote: "Of course, not all my conversations in immigrant communities follow this easy pattern. In the wake of 9/11, my meetings with Arab and Pakistani Americans, for example, have a more urgent quality, for the stories of detentions and FBI questioning and hard stares from neighbors have shaken their sense of security and belonging. They have been reminded that the history of immigration in this country has a dark underbelly; they need specific reassurances that their citizenship really means something, that America has learned the right lessons from the Japanese internments during World War II, and that I will stand with them should the political winds shift in an ugly direction." (page 261).
If someone requires further context on this last, actual quote, heaven help them.
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But wait - there's more:
Fake quote: "The emotion between the races could never be pure..... the THE OTHER RACE (WHITE) WOULD ALWAYS REMAIN JUST THAT: MENACING, ALIEN AND APART" - taken from "Dreams from My Father"
To assist them in "helping" us understand that Obama meant "WHITE", the libelist leaves out several key parts phrases such as "Whether WE sought..." and "...missing in OURselves" to avoid the messy reality that Obama is, in fact, talking about all of us - not just whites. Also conveniently left out is that he had just transferred to Columbia and, when his idealism hit the reality of New York, Obama began to acknowledge the challenges of living an authentic, integrated life in such a reality without finding "yourself on the side of the line that you'd never intended to be on." (page 122)
When his mother and sister visit, they find him in the midst of "this humorless mood". (page 122) There are some moments during that visit followed by similar memories (pp 123-4) that cause Obama's over-idealistic image of black community and racial harmony to plunge into an equally over-pessimistic view as he realizes:
Actual quote: The emotions between the races could never be pure; even love was tarnished by the desire to find in the other some element that was missing in our selves. Whether we sought our demons or our salvation, the other race would always remain just that: menacing, alien and apart." (page 124)
Sounds like a young guy getting hit with life's realities - no?? Given the context, this is one step on that journey - not the end.