Dreams From My Father news stories on Newser

GOP Rep: Get Obama's 'Drunken Uncle' Down Here

Polly Davis Doig — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 10:07:05 CDT

Rep. Steve King thinks President Obama's latest family embarrassment, the boozing Onyango Obama, is getting preferential treatment in his drunk-driving case, so the Iowa Republican wants to give him a little more special attention—in the way of a House hearing. "We have to bring drunken 'Uncle Omar' in front...

Obama's Dad Told Feds Baby Would Be Adopted Out

Kevin Spak — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 11:34:41 CDT

Barack Obama’s father once told immigration officials that he and Ann Dunham were planning to give their then-unborn child up for adoption, writes Sally Jacobs for the Boston Globe . The elder Obama had been under scrutiny from federal immigration officials, who feared that he had another wife in Kenya. In...

In 1995 Memoir, Obama Predicted His Problems as Prez

Evann Gastaldo — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 15:35:05 CST

Pundits love to offer up psychological assessments of the president, writes Walter Shapiro on Politics Daily , but few of them think to return to Barack Obama’s own autobiography, Dreams From My Father . Shapiro, reading the book for the first time, finds that no one could have predicted Obama’s problems better...

Obama's Dad Was No 'Radical'

Matt Cantor — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 11:04:00 CDT

Those who suggest Barack Obama is a “rabid anti-colonialist” based on impressions of his father are way off the mark about both father and son, writes Bruce L.R. Smith in the Washington Post . Dinesh D’Souza recently argued that “the president inherited political radicalism from his father.” But Obama Sr....

100 Defining Moments of the '00s

Evann Gastaldo — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:45:08 CDT

From the tragic (World Trade Center attacks, Hurricane Katrina) to the seemingly trivial (Stephen Fry's first Tweet), the Telegraph lists the top 100 defining cultural moments of the decade so far: April 2000 : Metallica sues music-sharing service Napster. October 2001 : The iPod is released. February 2003 : Sacha Baron Cohen hits...

Obama Books Banned for Jailed Terrorist

Rob Quinn — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:04:05 CDT

Prison officials refused to let an al-Qaeda terrorist serving 30 years in Supermax, a prison in Colorado, read Barack Obama's books, the Daily Telegraph reports. Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, an American citizen convicted of conspiring to, among other things, assassinate then–President George W. Bush, was told that the books contained...

Dylan: Obama Will Be Best Prez He Can Be

Jess Kilby — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:06:05 CDT

Barack Obama will be “the best president he can be,” Bob Dylan tells the Times of London, though he has “no idea” if Obama will actually be good at the job. “Most of those guys come into office with the best of intentions and leave as beaten men,” Dylan says....

Time for Obama to Channel Foul-Mouthed Buddy—Again

Evann Gastaldo — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 14:03:33 CST

Now that things are getting nasty in the stimulus fight, the Boston Phoenix has a suggestion for Barack Obama: Channel your potty-mouthed pal Ray. In the audio version of his autobiography, the Phoenix notes that Obama does an impression of his high school friend, complete with f-bombs, racial slurs, and...

Brits Tortured Obama Patriarch in Kenya Revolt

Jason Farago — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:09:01 CST

British jailers tortured Barack Obama's grandfather during the struggle for Kenyan independence, his family tells the Times of London. Hussein Onyango Obama, who worked as a cook for a British army officer, was arrested in 1949, aged 56, and imprisoned for two years. There he was subjected to daily whippings...