Back Talk

Last week, Obama’s wife, Michelle, proclaimed after one of her husband’s empty but charismatic speeches that she felt proud of her country for the first time in her life. The Obama camp naturally put the old political spin on it – she didn’t mean it, she is inexperienced, she meant relatively proud, she loves America, and, besides, she didn’t really say it. Nobody says something like that if there is no basis for it in their thinking. Obama has made some similar expressions in the past. Michelle Obama’s college thesis has not been available for public scrutiny because it had been “withdrawn from the Princeton library until after the general election.” This was drawing suggestions that there were statements in the 98 page document damaging to the campaign if made public so they have released the document to the web site “Politico.” Racial considerations were definitely in evidence. She wrote, “I really don’t belong. Regardless of the circumstances under which I interact with whites at Princeton, it often seems as if, to them, I will always be black first and a student second.” And, “no matter how liberal and open-minded some of my white professors and classmates are toward me, I sometimes feel like a visitor on campus.” She stated that the Black culture and the White culture are totally separate, not a single homogeneous one.