From a column by Ellen Goodman, published on May 9, 2008, in the Boston Globe:
From time to time during this primary, I've wondered about Obama's mama. In a race that was so much about biography, about beliefs rooted in her son's "DNA," she's made only cameo appearances.
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She was the "mother from Kansas" balanced alliteratively with the "father from Kenya." Or she was the white parent whose genes combined with the black parent. Or she was the woman dying of cancer "more worried about paying her medical bills than getting well." And on Tuesday night when her son all but sewed up the nomination, she appeared again as the "single parent who had to go on food stamps at one point."
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The rest of the story is known: a divorce, a marriage to an Indonesian, a second divorce. She was a mother who kept her children focused as well as fed. But what's less known is the woman in her own right, the one who became an anthropologist, the woman who spent years as the respected head of research for Women's World Banking, bringing micro-financing to poor people in Indonesia.
Nancy Barry, who was the head of Women's World Banking and knew Ann well, has been bewildered by the way she's been reduced to a stick figure. "She was stubborn, hard core, decisive, convincing, deep-thinking, rigorous in her analysis," says Barry. "When I hear Barack talking about how we are not red states, blue states, but the United States, I think he gets that from his mother. The other core capability he gets from her is the desire for healing."
I, too, wonder why Obama has not talked more about the mother who was a presence in his life, rather than the father who was mostly absent. He wrote a book called "Dreams From My Father", but as Goodman says, Obama's mother has made only "cameo appearances" in his campaign. Ann, pulled herself up from depending on food stamps, got an education, and worked as an anthropologist and a head researcher for the World Bank, therefore, she must have been a strong and determined woman. How did she influence and contribute to forming Obama's character? He was brought up by two strong women, his mother and his grandmother. Perhaps, there's a story there that just might be worth telling, not simply to further the purposes of his campaign, but because it's a compelling story on its own.
I can understand this to some extent. My dad died when I was 8 years old, and was (and is) a larger than life figure in my mind. The mother and older siblings who were there for years providing for and teaching me sometimes get short shrift when compared to that memory.
ReplyDeleteIt's more a yearning for what could have been and primarily, for the acceptance of one's self by that father figure.
Jim, I can well understand how the absent parent can become larger than life, and I don't mean to suggest that Obama tell mother's story for the sake of his political campaign, but, in a sense, we've really only heard maybe one fourth of the story of his background - what helped form his character, what motivated him and helped him establish his principles.
ReplyDeleteI think it's important to remember these stories are meant to win over, not to inform nor to reveal.
ReplyDelete"I'm not dead yet!"
"Yes, you are. Eh, give us a little help here?" (Thump!)
"See ya next Tuesday."
Of course Obama knows that if he talks about his mother during the campaign, the other side will see it as license to comb through her life with a fine-toothed comb to dredge up anything they can to use against him, no matter how absurd it may look to most people. Anything to fire up their base. Maybe he's more prudent to leave her out of the campaign - wait to talk about her in an interview after he's elected.
ReplyDeleteJohnieb, it seems that you think the politicians to be opportunistic. Could it be?
ReplyDeleteC.W.S, the Republicans are, even now, as I type, going through her history with a fine-toothed comb. Just because Obama doesn't talk about his mother, that won't prevent them from dredging up whatever dirt they can - or making stuff up.
I have wondered about this too. I wonder if it's part of an effort to seem "black enough." Such are the political realities of our times. (And I do not mean this as a criticism. Politicians must be . . . well, political.)
ReplyDeleteI don't know. Dreams from my Father was written before he was running for anything, so i don't think that was just to win people over. Now, of course, that can be said.
ReplyDeleteI am curious about her.
Ruth, I don't know. He's definitely not white enough for some people. He is what he is, and folks will make of him what they will. When I read Goodman's column, it resonated, because I wanted to know more about his mother, too, because from what little I knew, she seemed like an interesting person.
ReplyDeleteDiane, I didn't mean to imply that he wrote "Dreams From My Father" for political purposes, and, as Jim said, I do understand that the absent parent can often seem larger than life.