AP story: "Old friends recall Obama's years in LA, NY"

[Blondiegrrl]

Snippet:

There was a time before Obama wore tailored suits -- when his wardrobe consisted of $5 military-surplus khakis and used leather jackets, and he walked the streets of Manhattan for lack of bus fare. It was a time well before the political arena beckoned, when his friends thought he might become a writer or a lawyer, but certainly not the first black man with a real chance to become president of the United States.

Here's another one:

Siddiqi would mock Obama's idealism -- he just wanted to make a lot of money and buy things, while Obama wanted to help the poor.

"At that age, I thought he was a saint and a square, and he took himself too seriously," Siddiqi said. "I would ask him why he was so serious. He was genuinely concerned with the plight of the poor. He'd give me lectures, which I found very boring. He must have found me very irritating."

One more:

"We didn't have a chance in hell of getting this apartment unless we fabricated the lease application," Siddiqi said.

Siddiqi fudged his credentials, saying he had a high-paying job at a catering company, but Obama "wanted no part of it. He put down the truth."

Whole article here:
http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-young-obama,0,5550247.story?page=1

[LittleBlue]

1. Indicative of his character

Thanks for contributing this.

[neverforget]

2. limousine, latte sipping, san fransisco liberal elitist!

:sarcasm:

[Cha]

14. Our guy is

Complicated!

[AtomicKitten]

3. Elitist!

:D

[Connie_Corleone]

4. ...while Obama wanted to help the poor. What an elitist!/sarcasm

Great article.

[Tim4319]

5. Stories like this will serve him well with the repubs try to "Swift Boat" him!

[avenger64]

6. Yeah, weed will do that to you ....

... n/t

[EFerrari]

8. No, usually weed makes you hungry and sleepy, not active in the community. n/t

[mkultra]

43. i disagree and ive smoked alot of weed.

[EFerrari]

55. Well, maybe we can agree that no one ever smoked a joint

and went up into a tower with a rifle. :)

[mkultra]

56. it made me think of myself as a part of a whole rather than as a whole

Its also possible that i came to that conclusion at the exact same time that i started smoking weed. Who can say.

[MadMaddie]

67. Yea...just a huge brain tumor near the cerrebelum....

maybe if he would have smoked pot he wouldn't have gone on a rampage.

[cali]

15. Weed? Bwahahaha. Could you be anymore desperate?

[Cha]

16. Did you even read the article?

I didn't think so.

[Blondiegrrl]

17. FAIL. n/t

[dionysus]

29. hey troll, fuck off..

[TexasLady]

47. I could use a hit, after this post.

or two, even.

[Genevieve]

61. It's sounds like you're trying really hard

to make yourself sound as stupid as possible.

[Funnydoctor]

7. AP had a good article about Obama the other day

A nice biography, better than today's.

[silverweb]

10. I'd love to read it.

Would you happen to have a link? Do you recall what publication the article was in?

Tombstoned already? He didn't even have a chance to do anything. :shrug:

I still can't find the Obama bio he was talking about....

[Cha]

18. Maybe it was a sockpuppet?

Or a zombie..which is what the technical term is.

I found this, though:)

May 10, 3:04 PM EDT

Obama rises from political obscurity to verge of history

By CHARLES BABINGTON
Associated Press Writer

<snip>

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The amazement was on their faces. Hundreds waited for Barack Obama on that evening in South Carolina, 15 weeks ago, to claim victory - a surprising victory, surprisingly large.

And amazing it was. It made it possible for him to stand today on the verge of being the first black person ever nominated for president by a major party.

One could guess the thoughts of the blacks and whites in that crowd: Can you believe that our state - South Carolina, first to secede and first to open fire in the Civil War - is now catapulting a black man to the front of the presidential contest in a year that bodes well for Democrats?

<read more>
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OBAMA_ODYSSEY?SITE=DCUSN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[silverweb]

21. Thanks!

Working right now, but I'll read this ASAP. :hi:

[Cha]

23. It's really good..I'm glad

I looked for it.. :hi:

<snip>

"Now, the entire nation and countless foreigners are absorbing a moment that had seemed decades away, if possible at all. Smart strategists and rank-and-file voters ponder how Obama rose so far so fast, and theories abound. Historians will sort it out someday, but Obama's blend of oratory, biography, optimism and cool confidence come to mind most immediately."

[msallied]

41. I don't know if it's because I'm having a rough day

but that story made me tear up a little. How inspirational is that? I'm so excited for our future.

[Shakespeare]

63. My guess is that the AP ran the long NY Times Sunday magazine piece on Obama.

You can snag it easily off the NYT site. It's really good.

[silverweb]

9. Wonderful article.

:thumbsup:

[snooper2]

48. It's greatness...nice to know a little more about him..

like this part..

"Siddiqi has not kept in touch. His has been a difficult road; years after his time with Obama, Siddiqi says, he became addicted to cocaine and lost his business.

But when he needed help during his recovery, Obama -- the roommate he drove away with his partying, the man he always suspected of looking down at him -- gave him a job reference."

[jbnow]

11. Thanks for the link. ne

[Frustratedlady]

12. What a comparison to Shrub's youth...

and even McCain's early life.

I truly believe that Obama is for real and certainly not elite. He certainly seemed to have his head on pretty straight as to what he wanted to do with his life.

[Cha]

13. How Cool..I want a President who's

like this and along came Obama!

"In his memoir, Obama recalls fasting on Sunday; Siddiqi says Obama was a follower of comedian-activist Dick Gregory's vegetarian diet. "I think self-deprivation was his schtick, denying himself pleasure, good food and all of that."

I read Dick Gregory and his vegetarian diet, tooB-)

"My name is Hal Siddiqi, and I approve of this message. Vote for peace, vote for hope, vote for change, and vote for Obama."

[CitizenLeft]

19. thank you for posting this article...

loved it!

[CreekDog]

20. his mother's idealism and honesty live on in Barack

:applause:

[ecstatic]

22. I like it! Can't wait for the movie in 2016. nt

[DerekJ]

24. kick

[dkf]

25. Gosh, I didn't think I could be more impressed with my guy.

But I am!

I can't believe we may actually get a President as good and decent as Barack Obama. Are we lucky or what?

[smalll]

26. "Obama 'wanted no part of it. He put down the truth.' - of course, those were his

pre-Chicago, pre-Rezko days.

[DerekJ]

27. Still waiting for Rezko to sink Obama ...

:rofl:

[nichomachus]

28. Continuing to beat

a spot on the sidewalk where there used to be a dead horse.

[dionysus]

31. bitterly clinging to failed cards from months ago, the shillbot wipes a tear from its bloodshot eye.

[roguevalley]

36. clinton and dubai. suck on that one. go away.

[mkultra]

44. and pre 2008 nomination days.

[burythehatchet]

59. congratulations

on the perfect screen name

[marlakay]

30. i liked the story, he sounds like a good kid...nt

[indimuse]

32. Then WHY, Has BO done ZERO, for the same poor who voted for him??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hP-YoB5mnZs

[dionysus]

35. fail. how come in every pic you have of hillary she's in mid-cackle?

[indimuse]

45. cackle?

how come ALL your post attack Hillary Personally and NEVER are substantive?

[dionysus]

50. you have it wrong. i am attacking you personally

:hi:

[indimuse]

52. isn't THAT against the ROOLZ?

[dionysus]

53. i like how they airbrushed out ol hilly's wrinkles in that chairman mao style picture...

she's certainly not cackling in that one!!!
:hi:

[indimuse]

54. how about a pic of you??

c'mon gorgeous...wink...how about it?

[dionysus]

57. knock yourself out

[indimuse]

58. Nice RED shirt!

what does your hat say??:rofl:

[dionysus]

60. something wrong with the color red?

:shrug:

[indimuse]

62. lol! YEAH..

It reminds me of THEM! The Righty's! hellllooo... jk. You don't look so mean.;) lol...

[dionysus]

65. thanks

:hi:

[lastliberalintexas]

51. I don't think that's fair, Obama has done a great deal to help the poor

Granted, he's no Kucinich or even Edwards, but with a little help he might be pushed further left. Ignore his supporters, he's a pretty decent guy.

[Faygo Kid]

64. He could have written his own ticket after law school, and didn't.

He was a neighborhood community organizer on the south side of Chicago.

He was the first African-American editor of the Harvard Law Review, fer Chrissakes. ANY law firm in the country would have opened the vault for him.

But he went another route. More idiocy that will soon end here.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[DangerousRhythm]

34. Wow, that article...

It really makes me proud to support him for president! That is exactly the type and depth of character we need, in my opinion. Thank you so much for sharing it. :)

[NatBurner]

37. great read

k
r

[me b zola]

38. K&R

[Avalux]

39. OMG he's such an elitist (NOT).

I wish everyone in this country would read this and realize the kind of man about to become president. :kick:

[1_cali_dem]

68. Unfortunately, and examples show up all the time,

Some folks wouldn't get it even if you could show 'em a movie! I've got relatives, (and they're not even from WV) who still think he's a muslim...........(but they watch FOX) :banghead: :shrug: :shrug: GOBAMMA!!!!

[npincus]

40. Decency defines him.

[msallied]

42. Remember early on in the primaries when people mocked him

for his pronunciation of Pakistan? Those people look even dumber now.

[snooper2]

46. Well...that's nothing compared to

helping your grandfather build a cottage from scratch, cutting trees and everything..and growing up poor and having to fish for food, hunting deer, planting gardens...etc., :rofl:

[beachmom]

49. Thanks for posting. Great article. nt

[Willo]

66. Nice article. thank you for posting it nt

[VotesForWomen]

69. Siddiqi?? "My friend" in Arabic. dems are going down big time when this shit gets out.

face it. O is a little too pro-Islamist and anti-Israel for well over half of the country. his loss could also do lasting damage to the democratic party. heck, the 'weakling' image McGovern gave us will nothing compared to what O does for us.

[frog92969]

71. Don't be scared

you'll be ok soon.

[frog92969]

70. The more I learn about him

the more impressed I am, and proud to have voted for him.

What a great President he will be!