WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Sen. Barack Obama, the only major black candidate in the 2008 presidential race, has spent much of his life anguishing over his mixed-race heritage and self-described “racial obsessions.”

Descended from a white American mother and black Kenyan father, the Illinois Democrat once wrote: “He was black as pitch, my mother white as milk.”

In his first memoir, “Dreams from My Father,” Obama observed that when people discover his mixed-race heritage, they make assumptions about “the mixed blood, the divided soul, the ghostly image of the tragic mulatto trapped between two worlds.”

Indeed, Obama acknowledges feeling tormented for much of his life by “the constant, crippling fear that I didn't belong somehow, that unless I dodged and hid and pretended to be something I wasn't, I would forever remain an outsider, with the rest of the world, black and white, always standing in judgment.”

Obama's views on race are certain to be an issue in the upcoming presidential campaign, according to Princeton University professor Melissa Harris-Lacewell, who specializes in African-American politics.

“There’s no question that race and all the permutations that it’s going to take for Obama are going to be central issues,” she predicted.

Although Obama was raised by his mother, he identified more closely with the race of his father, who left the family when Obama was 2.

“I ceased to advertise my mother's race at the age of 12 or 13, when I began to suspect that by doing so I was ingratiating myself to whites,” he wrote.

Yet, even through high school, he continued to vacillate between the twin strands of his racial identity.

“I learned to slip back and forth between my black and white worlds,” he wrote in “Dreams.” “One of those tricks I had learned: People were satisfied so long as you were courteous and smiled and made no sudden moves. They were more than satisfied; they were relieved — such a pleasant surprise to find a well-mannered young black man who didn't seem angry all the time.”

Although Obama spent various portions of his youth living with his white maternal grandfather and Indonesian stepfather, he vowed that he would “never emulate white men and brown men whose fates didn't speak to my own. It was into my father’s image, the black man, son of Africa, that I’d packed all the attributes I sought in myself, the attributes of Martin and Malcolm, DuBois and Mandela.”

Obama wrote that in high school, he and a black friend would sometimes speak disparagingly “about white folks this or white folks that, and I would suddenly remember my mother's smile, and the words that I spoke would seem awkward and false.”

As a result, he concluded that “certain whites could be excluded from the general category of our distrust.”

Donna Brazile, who managed former Vice President Al Gore’s presidential campaign in 2000, said Obama's feelings of distrust toward most whites and doubts about himself are fairly typical for black Americans.

“He was a young man trying to discover, trying to accept, trying to come to grips with his background,” she explained. “In the process, he had to really make some statements that are hurtful, maybe. But I think they're more insightful than anything.”

During college, Obama disapproved of what he called other “half-breeds” who gravitated toward whites instead of blacks. And yet after college, he once fell in love with a white woman, only to push her away when he concluded he would have to assimilate into her world, not the other way around. He later married a black woman.

Such candid racial revelations abound in “Dreams,” which was first published in 1995, when Obama was 34 and not yet in politics. By the time he ran for his Senate seat in 2004, he observed of that first memoir: “Certain passages have proven to be inconvenient politically.”

Thus, in his second memoir, “The Audacity of Hope,” which was published last year, Obama adopted a more conciliatory, even upbeat tone when discussing race. Noting his multiracial family, he wrote in the new book: “I’ve never had the option of restricting my loyalties on the basis of race, or measuring my worth on the basis of tribe.”

This appears to contradict certain passages in his first memoir, including a description of black student life at Occidental College in Los Angeles.

“There were enough of us on campus to constitute a tribe, and when it came to hanging out many of us chose to function like a tribe, staying close together, traveling in packs,” he wrote. “It remained necessary to prove which side you were on, to show your loyalty to the black masses, to strike out and name names.”

He added: “To avoid being mistaken for a sellout, I chose my friends carefully. The more politically active black students. The foreign students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and structural feminists.”

Obama said he and other blacks were careful not to second-guess their own racial identity in front of whites.

“To admit our doubt and confusion to whites, to open up our psyches to general examination by those who had caused so much of the damage in the first place, seemed ludicrous, itself an expression of self-hatred,” he wrote.

After his sophomore year, Obama transferred to Columbia University. Later, looking back on his years in New York City, he recalled: “I had grown accustomed, everywhere, to suspicions between the races.”

His pessimism about race relations seemed to pervade his worldview.

“The emotion between the races could never be pure,” he laments in “Dreams.” “Even love was tarnished by the desire to find in the other some element that was missing in ourselves. Whether we sought out our demons or salvation, the other race would always remain just that: menacing, alien, and apart.”

After graduating from college, Obama eventually went to Chicago to interview for a job as a community organizer. His racial attitudes came into play as he sized up the man who would become his boss.

“There was something about him that made me wary,” Obama wrote. “A little too sure of himself, maybe. And white.”

Harris-Lacewell said such expressions of distrust toward whites will not hurt Obama in the Democratic presidential primaries, which are dominated by liberal voters.

“To win the Democratic nomination, he's got to get a part of the progressive, anti-war, white folks,” she said. “And those white folks tend to be suspicious of any black person who wouldn’t be suspicious of white people.”

Such liberals would have little basis for suspicion after reading some of Obama’s conclusions about the white race, which he once described as “that ghostly figure that haunted black dreams.”

“That hate hadn't gone away,” he wrote, blaming “white people — some cruel, some ignorant, sometimes a single face, sometimes just a faceless image of a system claiming power over our lives.”

Obama’s racial suspicions were not always limited to whites. For example, after making his first visit to Kenya, he wrote of being disappointed to learn that his paternal grandfather had been a servant to rich whites.

He wrote in “Dreams” that the revelation caused “ugly words to flash across my mind. Uncle Tom. Collaborator. House nigger.”

Such blunt and provocative observations about race are largely absent from Obama’s second memoir.

“I have witnessed a profound shift in race relations in my lifetime,” he wrote in “Audacity.” “I insist that things have gotten better.”

An adolescent confrontation

Barack Obama recalls punching out the “first boy” who “called me a coon” in seventh grade.

“I gave him a bloody nose,” Obama wrote in his first memoir, “Dreams from My Father.”

“Why’dya do that?” the boy said through “tears of surprise,” according to Obama.

It was not the first time young Obama would be subjected to racial slurs. He recalled an assistant basketball coach in high school referring to a group of black men as “niggers.”

“I told him — with a fury that surprised even me — to shut up,” Obama wrote.

“There are black people, and there are niggers,” the coach explained, according to Obama. “Those guys were niggers.”

Obama answered with contempt.

“'There are white folks and then there are ignorant motherf---ers like you,’ I had finally told the coach before walking off the court,” he wrote.

More from Bill Sammon's series:

The 5 most important things you need to know about...

Barack Obama

• Can a past of Islam change the path to president?
• 'Trapped between two worlds'
• 'The Obama position on the war'
• Perception vs. reality
• The power of positive press

Comments from Examiner Readers

4:59 PM MST on Mon., May. 5, 2008 re: "�Trapped between two worlds�"

Examiner Reader said:
I think that America should prove what it really is. We continue to tell the world that America is based on the "equality for all" principle, yet we are afraid to let a woman and black man do the job. Why cant we trust others? Why are we afraid for change? If nothing ever changed, the United States would not be an independent nation. Change is good becuase it allows us to explore new solutions and if it doesn't work out, we can learn from our mistakes. We should try new altrnatives. "Curiosity killed the cat" is true, but so is "Change brings progress." Lets let others take a chance to prove themselves.

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8:59 PM MST on Fri., May. 2, 2008 re: "�Trapped between two worlds�"

Examiner Reader said:
At the poker table w/ a "delagate" i was a republican because i was not for obama or billary. I was racially biased because i don't vote for obama and gender biased because i don't vote for hillary. I'm sure it was just poker-posturing but unfortunately this absurd reasoning is prevalent in real life.

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11:24 PM MST on Sun., Apr. 27, 2008 re: "Can a past of Islam change the path to president for Obama?"

Examiner Reader said:
At least we've come to the point that a woman and a minority are candidates. I grew up in the 60's when we as a society had to fight for the civil rights of these two groups. We are the great melting pot and Obama is obviously an example of this melting pot reality of Amercans. Most of us all are "Heinz 57's". Admittedly, this is a scary election, who to pick? What a quandry. Wonder if you could take all 3 and blend them into one person? I think when they pick their running mates, it may make the choice a little easier, ya think? As far as one person's comment about women making decisions from emotion, there's a little old saying about "mother knows best" and women's intuition. I love Star Trek and Voyager show's the captain Katherine Janeway as making a lot of quick correct gut decisions. Yes, this is a story, but men leading our country all this time, has it been for the best or perfect? Hilary might prove a woman could do a great job too! WHOEVER gets in has a job on their

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12:03 AM MST on Fri., Apr. 18, 2008 re: "�Trapped between two worlds�"

Examiner Reader said:
I've been wondering what would happen if a caucasian candidate ... .... was mentored by Edgar Ray Killen, as Obama is mentored by Rev. Jeremiah Wright? .... chose a minister who honored John Taylor Bowles, as Obama's minister honored Farrakahn? .... chose their particular church, out of all the churches in town, because it had an intense feeling of 'white memory and history,' as Obama's choice was based on his intense "feeling of black memory and history?' ... attended an 'unabashedly white' church, advertised as proudly as Obama's 'unabashedly black' church'? ... authored a book containing racist memories, racist observations and racist hopes, the way Obama's 'Dreams From My Father; A Story of Race and Inheritance' does? I've also wondered ... ... why is there only a 'Black History' Month and not an Apache, Irish Immigrant or Third Generation Italian Month? ... why can't we be simply Americans, instead of Hyphenated Americans?

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10:25 PM MST on Mon., Apr. 7, 2008 re: "Can a past of Islam change the path to president for Obama?"

Examiner Reader said:
I find it astounding that there is such long enduring prejudice between two religions, one ordained by the God of the Jews and Jesus, and one created because of Jesus. In other words, two religions praying to the same God. How sad God must people that God's people are fighting over whose right rather than who is faithful. And I mean faithful in terms of the peace the prophets have told us for centuries that God wants. Sad. It also seems that some people think we are a "Christian" nation. Not by a long shot. If we are Christian we have really dishonored God. Obama probably has a background and a current expression in religion that make him the perfect candidate in a pluralistic society. It is not his fault that Bush declared wars that make it look as though all Muslims are evil and the enemy. Thanks for a chance to "speak."

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1:17 PM MST on Sat., Mar. 29, 2008 re: "Can a past of Islam change the path to president for Obama?"

Luke Saltzman said:
I agee and disagree with the comment below. Frist of all how are there really sick people commenting on this site, when we can't help who's for president? We can only vote for who ever we think is going to be the best for the country. And everyone is welcome to there opinon, and they can vote for what ever they think is right. And I think you can judge him by his pastor because he has been going to that church for 20 years, and his pastor isn't a good person, I think he's old enough to make dessisons weather or not to go to that church when his pastor really isn't a good person making bad dessions. If he can deside weather or not his pastor has been making the right dessison, How is he going to make the right dessison for this country? Because he's perfectly able to go to a different church.

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6:58 PM MST on Tue., Mar. 25, 2008 re: "�Trapped between two worlds�"

Examiner Reader said:
There are some really sick people commenting on this site. If you ask me, take a close look at any of the candidates and you will find fault in all 3 candidates You will see that none of them sound like a knight in shining armor. First Obama, some think he is a racist and a liar. McCain, is a liar too, he cheated on his first wife, has not been loyal to any one party and is a POW, which many POWs have mental problems, gosh what if he has flash backs, that may explain his only conversation "the war". Hillary, come on, be serious this lady is in it for the glory and her own selfish reasons. She tells us exactly what we want to hear, what has she promised that is hard to accept? She will not fulfill any of her promises. Most of us are going on a haunch that if she wins, we will get the politics back that worked when her husband was in office. The fact is Hillary should be judged on what she has accomplished as Hillary, just as Barack should be judged on who he is and not his pastor.

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1:53 PM MST on Sat., Mar. 22, 2008 re: "Can a past of Islam change the path to president for Obama?"

Examiner Reader said:
This is not "trashing him" this is what he said and what he has done.

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10:41 AM MST on Sat., Mar. 22, 2008 re: "�Trapped between two worlds�"

Examiner Reader said:
Certainly, it is sad to feel trapped between two worlds, as Obama reports. But to opt for the ugliest, most violent, most demagogic version of one of those worlds has probably not eased his sense of having to hide his true self, which is half "evil whitey" or whatever it's called. In any case, I believe I have to abandon him and vote for McCain. At least McCain has experience and while I disagree with some of his ideas, he's not advocating violence or sitting in the church of a tin-pot godling who does.

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11:55 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 21, 2008 re: "�Trapped between two worlds�"

Provocateur said:
So, if you protest racism then you are a racist. Another one of those Jim Crow rules?

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10:34 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 21, 2008 re: "�Trapped between two worlds�"

Examiner Reader said:
I think this entire story around Obama�s religious affiliation has demonstrated more than just his poor judgment over the last 20 years. This story is evidence that we have a double standard in our country. I would be willing to bet if McCain and/or any other White Senator were caught attending and financially supporting a white supremacy church, he or she would be asked to resign their Senate seat immediately. Let�s not forget that not only has Obama attended this church for the last 20 years, but he also has financially supported these racist ideas.

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8:35 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 21, 2008 re: "�Trapped between two worlds�"

Examiner Reader said:
Obama is anti-white people. He refers to us as " typical white people". If this was uttered about black people there would be marches in the streets against him. He contends that he never heard his pastor disparage America or white people yet he' been around this guy for 20 years! He is either delusional or addle minded if he thinks that is believable. His refusal to condemn his pastor's remarks and disavow himself from this pastor is reprehensible and a slap in the face of all Americans. How can this guy be trusted to do the right thing for our country when he can't get his own house in order? His church honored Louis Farrakhan as a great man. Farrakhan is the biggest racist around! This Obama would be a huge mistake as president.

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10:00 AM MST on Wed., Mar. 19, 2008 re: "�Trapped between two worlds�"

Liberalism is a mental disorder. said:
Obama sat and listened to anti white hate speech for over 20 years in his church. He either has some of the worst judgment in human history, or he believes everything he was listening to. He is a racist and a liar. If this was a white person that belonged to a church preaching neo-Nazi beliefs, there would be a huge uproar, and he would be forced to stop running for this position. Take a good look at this country!!! It has become politically correct for blacks to be racist. Is this really a person we want running our country? Hell no!!!

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9:50 AM MST on Wed., Mar. 19, 2008 re: "Can a past of Islam change the path to president for Obama?"

Sceered said:
I am a minority am I have not been raised to judge on religion or color however I have learned to through life experiences! One race in particular has not only learned to be racist, they have inherited it. Is this the type of person we want in office?

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9:01 PM MST on Sun., Mar. 16, 2008 re: "�Trapped between two worlds�"

Numbers guy said:
Is it ok for him (Obama)to be a racist and still play the racist card like he has been. I think not! Take a look at the FBI report for HOMICIDE crime rates by race. For every 100,000 black people there are 33 murders committed BY blacks. For every 100,000 whites there are less than 4, YOU DO THE MATH. If he is elected here come MORE FREE programs for the taxpayer to pay for, and "like it's not bad enough already" watch the crime rate soar. If he is elected as-is it WILL be the beginning of the end. I will LMAO when you people get what you ask for. The lack of education in the U.S. today is squarely to blame.

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2:53 PM MST on Sat., Mar. 15, 2008 re: "Can a past of Islam change the path to president for Obama?"

Examiner Reader said:
Obama has either had a terrible lapse of judgment for the last 20 years as demomstrated by his Rezko and Wright associations or he is a corrupt politician and an anti-american and hate monger. Either way I glad to say I didn't vote for him. After news about his church's support for Farrakhan broke in January I took a second look at Obama and didn't like what I saw. I think he is a corrupt politician and anti-american. Do I even need to mention his wife's comments. Obama has tried to con the American people.Either way you look at it real bad judgment or bigot he is not right for any public office. God Bless America.

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5:53 AM MST on Sat., Mar. 15, 2008 re: "�Trapped between two worlds�"

Examiner Reader said:
I have been a fan and a supporter of Obama for over a year now. I have campaigned for him to get many supporters during the Primary in Virgina. I always thought that he has the best judgments compared to Hillary. However, I am very sad to state that I do not support Obama anymore based on the following facts: 1. If Obama has good judgments, how come he did not know about his Pastor's redial views? If Obama does not know about his closet adviser, friend and his spiritual leader with who he is associated for over many years, it certainly speaks about his judgments. 2. It is not good enough to denounce his pastor's remarks when confronted by the media. He should have done this a long time ago. It seems that he wants to have it both ways 3. Why did not Obama denounce his Church & Pastor, when he found out that the leader of "Nation of Islam" was given an award by his church? He knew about this but did not denounce it immediately. Where was Obama's judgments? Mr. Obama,you lost my V

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12:00 PM MST on Fri., Mar. 14, 2008 re: "Can a past of Islam change the path to president for Obama?"

Stephen Hicks said:
Unfortunately, many Americans are unaware of what Malcolm X stood for. Many Americans think of Malcolm X as a hate-spewing, angry black militant without critical analysis of his ideas. His ideas changed during his lifetime, so please resist the laziness by pegging Malcolm X as a bad influence on Obama without examining the man's contributions.

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9:49 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 14, 2008 re: "Can a past of Islam change the path to president for Obama?"

Examiner Reader said:
For those objecting to the 'trashing' of Obama, the recently aired statements of his pastor says a lot about the Obamas. Will he repudiate the remarks of his pastor, or will he give a mealy-mouthed rebuke like he did when Farrakhan endorsed him?

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8:59 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 14, 2008 re: "Can a past of Islam change the path to president for Obama?"

Examiner Reader said:
I'm sorry but I need to respond to all of this trashing of Obama. I'm not sure I will vote for him but still want to stick up for him and call for some civility and truth. First he is not or never has been Muslim. He is a member of the United Church of Christ for 20 years. Not a black supremacist church. Obama indicated that he will vigorously defend us and aggressively go after terrorists anywhere they are. As far as questioning his patriotism I cannot find any basis for this. Yes he DOES pledge allegiance to the flag. So if you think he is Muslim, is unpatriotic and somehow will make us less safe give me some evidence. Btw the comments of the 14 year old is more refreshing. I think the youth can see through the BS better. Thank you.

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8:25 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 14, 2008 re: "Can a past of Islam change the path to president for Obama?"

Examiner Reader said:
I just can't understand how bigoted and ignorant people are. Please take the time to understand the facts. It almost seems like a conspiracy to defame Obama. We like labels and to label people myself included. One day I hope I will feel people our open minded and not prejudiced. We like sound bites and are a little lazy to get the true facts. I like qualities about all the remaining presidential candidates John McCain, Obama and Clinton. Just like we want to tear down each other it would be kind of refreshing to see the good things about people. On the topic of Obama, he is a practicing Christian for 20 years. Even if he was not, so what. The evidence is that he is a good decent man, smart, educated, likable, caring and has a good documented history of helping people. If only more people were like him the world would be a better place. We can disagree on tactical things but Let's work together to keep the ideals that this country was founded on although not perfect, still the best.

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8:00 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 14, 2008 re: "Can a past of Islam change the path to president for Obama?"

Examiner Reader said:
To me it is alarming that a man with so little political experience could be considered for the highest office in our nation. What are we as a nation thinking???

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5:52 PM MST on Thu., Mar. 13, 2008 re: "Can a past of Islam change the path to president for Obama?"

Examiner Reader said:
This guy is bad news, Muslim or not. Look how fouled up Illinois is and his voting record. Taxes. Crime. Graft. Pollution. Job loss. laws etc. Bush made Clinton look good. This guy will make Bush look good

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2:57 PM MST on Thu., Mar. 13, 2008 re: "Can a past of Islam change the path to president for Obama?"

Examiner Reader said:
Sounds to me like Obama is really a muslim and would not be good for our Country.

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9:00 AM MST on Thu., Mar. 13, 2008 re: "�The Obama position on the war�"

Lauri Jones said:
As reported from the Internation Herald Tribune, Nov., '07): He said that after American forces leave Iraq, he "would investigate war crimes and hold the perpetrators accountable, apprehending the war criminals." Everybody knows that if our soldiers leave Iraq, the terrorists are going to jump on Iraq like a pit bull on a poodle and loss of innocent lives will double. He said that after American troops are withdrawn, that the "troops should be prepared to return to Iraq and protect civilians if there was genocidal attacks against civilians." IF there were attacks against civilians? If American troops leave, the message to the terrorists is that Americans are milquetoast and Mr. Obama's plan will be ushering in another 9/11. His plan stinks from my humble estimation, that is if this is still his plan. Is it?

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2:36 PM MST on Wed., Mar. 12, 2008 re: "Can a past of Islam change the path to president for Obama?"

Examiner Reader said:
Does no one know how to think for themselves?? It seems that so many people are willing to just believe whatever is written in the media. Don't people realize that basically every news source is biased one way or the other. It's impossible to get straight facts, and because of that, we shouldn't be so quick to just blindly jump on the bandwagon and go along with whatever we think sounds good. Do people not realize that when Obama was apperantly not putting his hand over his heart during the pledge of allegiance, the pledge wasn't even being said at that point! They were singing the national anthem. Not putting your hand over your heart during the national anthem is totally normal and a lot of Americans don't do that. I do believe that ignorance is the parent of fear, and that all these people that are so scared of Obama being president are just incredibly ignorant. Come on, we're not really this stupid, are we??

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7:56 PM MST on Tue., Mar. 11, 2008 re: "�Trapped between two worlds�"

Examiner Reader said:
Read 'Trapped between two worlds' and 'can a past of Islam..' They are both full of ugly racist remarks Obama has made and prove he believes in Islam!!

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8:58 PM MST on Sat., Mar. 8, 2008 re: "�Trapped between two worlds�"

Examiner Reader said:
A platform of HOPE? 20 year member of a black supremacist church! How can black America have hope when more than 1 out of 5 are slaves of entitlements to the welfare, police state that disenfranchises 70 percent black children from their fathers to the feminists agenda? Change? I�ve seen what "CHANGE" big government has given us. The dollar is worth about 4 cents �CHANGE� from what the dollar was worth a century ago.

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12:36 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 7, 2008 re: "Can a past of Islam change the path to president for Obama?"

Examiner Reader said:
Question: Is there a rule or law that declares that to qualify as a candidate for presidency of the United States the person has to have been born in the continental United States of America?????????. I would really like to know because in the future I might want to vote for the "Terminator".(Arnold)

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12:08 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 7, 2008 re: "Can a past of Islam change the path to president for Obama?"

Examiner Reader said:
I can't believe that Mrs. Obama is just now becoming proud to be called an American. And it appears that it just happened during the time when her husband was on a winning streak to become President of the U.S.A. Well I'm a black American and I'm 60 years old and I have always been proud to be called to be an American. She should be ashamed to make such a statement or confession on national television but, "from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh". Keep her Talking America and she will tell you more.

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11:01 PM MST on Thu., Mar. 6, 2008 re: "�Trapped between two worlds�"

Examiner Reader said:
I greatly respect Senator Barack Hussein Obama and all of his accomplishments. However, I am a black male just as he, but I can't bring myself to vote for him just because he is black. I do feel that issues are very important and so are things such as religion and patriotism when it come to being President of the United States of America. On Wednesday morning Senator Obama spoke in Texas and made the comment that religion should not be used as "a wedge nor patriotism as a bludgeon" in voting, or as a requirement for President. As a black man myself I firmly agree, but as an American citizen and a descendent of a black veteran of the cival war(1861-1865), I do feel that religion or the lack thereof and a persons Patriotism or lack thereof must be considered when being considered for the highest office in the nation. I personally cannot find it believable that any person could be considered for President and not be willing to pledge their allegience to the flag and the Republic.

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6:16 PM MST on Thu., Mar. 6, 2008 re: "�Trapped between two worlds�"

Tired of the 'Race' Race... said:
Geeze... Cant we just look at the person and their views on the issues and not the skin, gender, name, faith, etc... Obama is part black and part white... so what? What if I was 'conflicted' over my Irish, Polish, German, and English parts? Would there be a report about how my German side wants to invade my English and Polish sides, and would explain why I'm so hostile all the time. Or that my drinking problem is all to blame on my Irish great-grandfather, 4 times removed... Give me a break America! Drop the flippin race cards and lets all just be people for once.

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2:07 PM MST on Thu., Mar. 6, 2008 re: "Can a past of Islam change the path to president for Obama?"

Examiner Reader said:
Obama's smooth ride so far maybe be due to some supernatural forces.(remember the mau mau society of kenya during the fight independence). Why did Obama visit Kenya before declaring his intention to run for president? why do the press and people falling in line easily without thorough scrutiny, especially someone who is 50% african and has an arabic name and whose african families are muslims? chicken and corn and other stuff are used in african vudoo for achievement. Each time Obama's grandmother is interviewed, she has these around. Most Africans that saw her on TV readily knew what she was doing and are unimpressed with Obama's wins.

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4:19 PM MST on Wed., Mar. 5, 2008 re: "Obama: Perception vs. reality"

S.K. said:
I would like to make a suggested correction to the previous Reader's comment. There should be ellipses between "I was proudest of my brother" and "He converted to Islam"--you know for the twenty worlds the Reader left out, the ones that talked about Obama being proud of his brother's reassertion of his African heritage. And maybe I just missed it, but I can't for the life of me find the second quote in either of the articles mentioned. I know he said something of the sort in Dreams when discussing his struggles with racial identity. It seems there is something a bit wrong when people choose not only to take statements out of context but also to remove contextually important information from within them.

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2:52 PM MST on Wed., Mar. 5, 2008 re: "Can a past of Islam change the path to president for Obama?"

Examiner Reader said:
You have only to read both articles with quotes from his books (Can a past of Islam change the path to the president, and Trapped between two worlds) to see his disdain for the white race and his belief and admiration for Islam!! "I was the proudest of all of my brother. He converted to Islam" " I found a solice in nursing a pervasove sense of hate toward my mother's race" For God's sake, people. Wake up!! How plain does he have to make it???

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2:44 PM MST on Wed., Mar. 5, 2008 re: "�Trapped between two worlds�"

Examiner Reader said:
Obama is a fraud. He is fooling America. Google "Freedom's Enemies, Barack Hussein Obama", by Beckwith. Vast, on-going file backed by links to Obama's own books, speeches, news articles and matters of record. INVESTIGATE this man before you vote!!!

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12:01 PM MST on Wed., Mar. 5, 2008 re: "Can a past of Islam change the path to president for Obama?"

Examiner Reader said:
Personally I don't like any of the candidates. to me Clinton can't seem to decide weather she is for something or against it(NAFTA). Obama, no offense but he just isn't experienced enough. And McCain well after the last 8 years with Bush who wants another Republican. The question is which of the 3 evils will you pick? Clinton people can dissagree if you like I don't care will not be a good president she will do as all women will do make judgments based on emotion instead of thinking things through and making a logical choice. No I don't think we should have a woman president. Oh its not just my opinion its phsycology 101. Men tend to make juudgment on logic and women on emotion. And I don't want another Republican to screw things up more. So I guess I am forced to vote for Obama even though I don't think he is prepared for to be president due to age and lack of experience. I just hope he picks a good vice president to go to for questions he has.

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