Do you know how I know when Sen. Barack Obama is lying (Part II)?
You know the answer…don’t be afraid to just yell it out…that’s right — because his lips are moving.
This time it’s about his relationship to John F. Kennedy:
Addressing civil rights activists in Selma, Ala., a year ago, Sen. Barack Obama traced his “very existence†to the generosity of the Kennedy family, which he said paid for his Kenyan father to travel to America on a student scholarship and thus meet his Kansan mother.
The Camelot connection has become part of the mythology surrounding Obama’s bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. After Caroline Kennedy endorsed his candidacy in January, Newsweek commentator Jonathan Alter reported that she had been struck by the extraordinary way in which “history replays itself†and by how “two generations of two families — separated by distance, culture and wealth — can intersect in strange and wonderful ways.â€
It is a touching story — but the key details are either untrue or grossly oversimplified.
Contrary to Obama’s claims in speeches in January at American University and in Selma last year, the Kennedy family did not provide the funding for a September 1959 airlift of 81 Kenyan students to the United States that included Obama’s father. According to historical records and interviews with participants, the Kennedys were first approached for support for the program nearly a year later, in July 1960. The family responded with a $100,000 donation, most of which went to pay for a second airlift in September 1960.
It seems like such a stupid thing to lie about — kinda like Hillary claiming she was named after Sir. Edmund Hillary, despite the fact she was born 6 years before he gained fame by climbing Mt. Everest in 1953. But yet lie about it is exactly what Barack did anyway.
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OTHERS
Cpt. Ed at Hot Air:
Why the deception? Obama’s speech had two purposes: to increase his authenticity as a black politician by tying himself to Selma and the general civil-rights movement, and to assume the mantle of Kennedy’s Camelot. Both are essentially falsehoods.
Sure. Falsehoods is a polite way of saying it. Another way is he lied.
Just like Rev. Jeremiah Wright can’t open his mouth without spewing racist and anti-semitic hate speech; just like Michelle Obama can’t open her mouth without saying something that exposes her ungratefulness and unearned sense of entitlement; Barack can’t open his mouth without lying.
Glenn Reynolds — “Obama keeps bending space and time regarding his biographical details, which is a problem for a guy who’s made his biography such a centerpiece of his campaign.”
Of course this happened before he was born. Most families don’t have their myths double checked by the media. My mother told me today that one of my ancestors was an inventor of the player piano. I suppose she too would be disqualified from office when the fact that this was unlikely inevitably came to light.
Seriously- are you so uninterested in the actual policy positions of the candidates that this seems important?
Left by Preston on March 30th, 2008 at 8:04 pm