When did the Boston Globe become a racist ragsheet.

[Mass]

I found this article by chance and frankly, I am befuddled. What is the point of this article? Why is it even relevant or interesting, aside from showing an African man in a way that totally negative. Even if this was true (something we will never known given that the article seemed based on an note in an immigration file, I find this extremely shocking and disturbing, and really irrelevant given that president Obama's father was not exactly an influence in his formative life.

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/articles/2011/07/07/father_spoke_of_having_obama_adopted/?page=1

[karynnj]

1. This really is an odd story

If anything it highlights the racist country the US undeniably was in 1961. Obama's own quote from his book recognizes that his mom deciding to have and raise a half black child was not an easy choice.

What is kind of strange is the almost "this is a scandal" tone. This was all from over 50 years ago and before Obama was even born. It really does not matter if that marriage was a shotgun marriage because Ann was pregnant (I don't know the timing), if he was still married, or if his dad was a playboy, it would not matter if Ann was pushed to consider putting him up for adoption. What did matter to his boyhood was:

From day one, as far as I could tell, she and Madelyn and Stanley were all completely committed to Barack.’

But even the fact that he had a loving supportive family has nothing to do with whether he should be President. Most of us, thank God, have supportive families and that makes our lives easier. It is who he is now and what his values are that made him a person his peers supported in 2008 - and now - for President.

It is interesting that the articles on Senator Brown after his book detailed a truly difficult childhood with completely irresponsible parents, the tone was that he became stronger for living through all of that. (Echoing the theme of Bill Clinton's own biography.) Yet the tone here, especially in how they position a WH denial, makes it seem as if the possible behavior of his dad before he was born in some way reflects on Obama - in spite of the Obamas having an obviously strong marriage.