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How I Confronted Obama Biographer David Maraniss
American Thinker
John Drew
11/3/2012
Excerpt:
I pushed the envelope of citizen-journalism a little further this week by introducing myself to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Maraniss. According to Maraniss, his research for Barack Obama: The Story took him to Hawaii, Indonesia, and Kenya. Unfortunately, he did not have the time to Google search me or review any of the five books, multiple blog posts, YouTube videos, or hundreds of websites that feature my take on young Obama's ideological extremism.
Ironically, Maraniss got awfully close to confirming the details of my 1980 Christmas break debate with young Obama -- a debate that reveals just how radical Obama was as a college student. Maraniss reports that young Obama was in the San Francisco area at precisely the time when I indicated I first met and debated him. Maraniss, in fact, talked at length with my college-era Marxist girlfriend, Caroline Boss, at whose home the debate took place. Maraniss goes so far as to report that Caroline was part of the composite character "Regina" in Dreams from My Father.
I managed to converse with Maraniss during his recent visit to my alma mater, Occidental College, on October 29, 2012. My wife Tricia and I arrived at Occidental's Thorne Hall early and picked out seats near the front. I learned that Maraniss sees young Obama as a largely apolitical figure generally interested more in personal growth than in raw political power. In Maraniss's view, young Obama was largely untouched by the radicalism of either my ex-girlfriend or his Pakistani roommate, Hassan Chandoo -- the older student who admitted to his youthful Marxism in David Remnick's The Bridge. Maraniss sees no evidence that young Obama was interested in pursuing elected office. For Maraniss, Obama's lust for power kicks in only just prior to Obama's application to Harvard Law School. Maraniss's portrait of young Obama, of course, is absolutely inconsistent with my face-to-face observation that young Obama was 100% committed to preparing for a Communist revolution in the United States and was actively grooming himself to play a leadership role in that highly anticipated potentially violent conflict.
Maraniss called for questions, and I stood up. Speaking into a microphone, I dropped my well-rehearsed bombshell before an audience of about 200 listeners: "Mr. Maraniss, my name is John Drew. I'm a former professor and a former Marxist." This opening line got a laugh.
"For several years now," I continued, "I have been very public about my time with Barack Obama at Occidental, where he and I and my girlfriend were all fellow Marxists. A number of conservative authors have asked me about this and published my account in bestselling books. You've interviewed my girlfriend and others in our radical circles, but not me. I'd love to talk with you. Would you be open to that? I'm not looking to sell my story or for increased name recognition. I just want to share the truth."
Maraniss's response was curt. "Of course," he said. "I'm open to talk with anyone." He shut up and immediately moved on to the next question. Nevertheless, I could see that I was on his mind, since Maraniss mentioned me by name two more times during his question-and-answer session. The good news is that he was nice enough to assert that he was not sure of my motivations. The bad news is that he seemed quite certain that everyone else who repeats, or depends on, my testimony -- including Jack Cashill, Paul Kengor, Stanley Kurtz, and the editors of American Thinker -- is largely motivated by intractable racism.
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View the complete article at:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/..._maraniss.html
American Thinker
John Drew
11/3/2012
Excerpt:
I pushed the envelope of citizen-journalism a little further this week by introducing myself to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Maraniss. According to Maraniss, his research for Barack Obama: The Story took him to Hawaii, Indonesia, and Kenya. Unfortunately, he did not have the time to Google search me or review any of the five books, multiple blog posts, YouTube videos, or hundreds of websites that feature my take on young Obama's ideological extremism.
Ironically, Maraniss got awfully close to confirming the details of my 1980 Christmas break debate with young Obama -- a debate that reveals just how radical Obama was as a college student. Maraniss reports that young Obama was in the San Francisco area at precisely the time when I indicated I first met and debated him. Maraniss, in fact, talked at length with my college-era Marxist girlfriend, Caroline Boss, at whose home the debate took place. Maraniss goes so far as to report that Caroline was part of the composite character "Regina" in Dreams from My Father.
I managed to converse with Maraniss during his recent visit to my alma mater, Occidental College, on October 29, 2012. My wife Tricia and I arrived at Occidental's Thorne Hall early and picked out seats near the front. I learned that Maraniss sees young Obama as a largely apolitical figure generally interested more in personal growth than in raw political power. In Maraniss's view, young Obama was largely untouched by the radicalism of either my ex-girlfriend or his Pakistani roommate, Hassan Chandoo -- the older student who admitted to his youthful Marxism in David Remnick's The Bridge. Maraniss sees no evidence that young Obama was interested in pursuing elected office. For Maraniss, Obama's lust for power kicks in only just prior to Obama's application to Harvard Law School. Maraniss's portrait of young Obama, of course, is absolutely inconsistent with my face-to-face observation that young Obama was 100% committed to preparing for a Communist revolution in the United States and was actively grooming himself to play a leadership role in that highly anticipated potentially violent conflict.
Maraniss called for questions, and I stood up. Speaking into a microphone, I dropped my well-rehearsed bombshell before an audience of about 200 listeners: "Mr. Maraniss, my name is John Drew. I'm a former professor and a former Marxist." This opening line got a laugh.
"For several years now," I continued, "I have been very public about my time with Barack Obama at Occidental, where he and I and my girlfriend were all fellow Marxists. A number of conservative authors have asked me about this and published my account in bestselling books. You've interviewed my girlfriend and others in our radical circles, but not me. I'd love to talk with you. Would you be open to that? I'm not looking to sell my story or for increased name recognition. I just want to share the truth."
Maraniss's response was curt. "Of course," he said. "I'm open to talk with anyone." He shut up and immediately moved on to the next question. Nevertheless, I could see that I was on his mind, since Maraniss mentioned me by name two more times during his question-and-answer session. The good news is that he was nice enough to assert that he was not sure of my motivations. The bad news is that he seemed quite certain that everyone else who repeats, or depends on, my testimony -- including Jack Cashill, Paul Kengor, Stanley Kurtz, and the editors of American Thinker -- is largely motivated by intractable racism.
.................................................. ..
View the complete article at:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/..._maraniss.html