Shades Of John Kerry?
Uh oh. Did Barack massively exaggerate his pre-community-organizer job?
Everyone remembers the embarassment John Kerry suffered with his “Christmas in Cambodia” episode, with the lucky hat and the “seared, seared into my memory” quote. This revelation is nearly as central to the Obama story: the story that he gave up a lucrative consulting gig to go back to his roots. Trouble is, that account appears to be a wild exaggeration, according to a (friendly) former co-worker:
First, it wasn’t a consulting house; it was a small company that published newsletters on international business. Like most newsletter publishers, it was a bit of a sweatshop. I’m sure we all wished that we were high-priced consultants to multinational corporations. But we also enjoyed coming in at ten, wearing jeans to work, flirting with our co-workers, partying when we stayed late, and bonding over the low salaries and heavy workload.
It appears Obama also invented the idea he had a secretary, never wore a suit and tie (which attire he claimed seeing himself in at work inspired an important personal moment), claimed to be “writing” things he was actually only editing, and fabricated out of whole cloth the notion he ever did anything remotely like “interview Japanese financiers or German bond traders” as he says in his book.
This is a serious problem, as it shreds his credibility. If Obama is lying about all these things, can middle-class taxpayers be expected to believe him when he claims he won’t raise their taxes?
I don’t think the media can cover for Barack on this one for long. Eventually, they’re going to have to ask him some of the hard questions this raises.
(h/t Ace)
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14 comments
"I don’t think the media can cover for Barack on this one for long. Eventually, they’re going to have to ask him some of the hard questions this raises."
You think so? Not unless there is the sort of hue and cry over this as there was when the blogosphere revealed his connections to Jeremiah Wright.
Otherwise this will get just about as much attention as the John Edwards affair and possible love-child.
CosmicConservative’s last blog post..Dadman’s iPod Sampler
I think this is too obscure, too ancient, and too insignificant to make any difference even if the media were to pay any attention. Fabricating details of a wartime record mattered, because lives were on the line, and because the Winter Soldier mess drew a lot of anger from veterans. Fabricating details of a first job just won’t matter to very many people. Heck, many people are guilty of resume inflation. This might just boost voters’ sympathy for Senator Obama; but honestly, I expect it to remain insignificant.
CC,
If it makes to Instapundit or Powerline, it’s going to be hard to ignore.
If it makes it to Drudge, they have to react.
Puffing or spinning your resume is something an awful lot of people do. Indeed, it’s often advised in books and articles on how to be more successful with job interviews. Outright lying should be avoided, but you can spin things in ways that make them look more than they are. That’s all the Senator may be guilty of here, a bit of puffing and exaggeration on a job where he only dressed upscale on occasion or met and negotiated with certain people on occasion.
Will the public care? Hard to say. I know Obama’s near-complete lack of experience that matters in a President bothers me, but I’m not sure it matters to most people. All of the candidates are deficient in some regard or another on that score, which also worries me; no matter what we’re going to get someone lacking crucial experience. I at least know I can trust McCain to not do anything crazy militarily, but, others probably don’t see it that way (to my disappointment but acceptance).
True, people routinely exaggerate resumes… but this wasn’t a resume. This was the book that launched his campaign for the Presidency.
At the very least, it appears he has greatly exaggerated here. Some statements seem to be outright fabrications (or "lies"), based on co-workers’ testimony. At the very least, I think the questions need to be asked.
This is especially relevant given today’s news.
Keep in mind too, Obama is running ads against McCain claiming McCain is ignorant on economic matters. If Obama’s been extensively padding his economic resume that looks very bad in that context.
May be, but at the same time Kerry made his wartime experience the main focus of his campaign. We all remember the "Kerry was a Vietnam Vet? Who knew?" jokes.
Obama hasn’t really done the same thing with his past. He hasn’t really droned on and on about his how his community organizing is his primary qualifications to office.
I haven’t seen his convention speach but I somehow I doubt he started it off with "I’m Barack Obama and I’m reporting for Community Organization!"
[…] Dean’s World: Did Barack massively exaggerate his pre-community-organizer job? […]
The comment that really bothered me was this one: "I remember trying to explain the nuance of (interest rate swaps) to him in the cramped three Wang terminal space we called the bull pen. In contrast to his his liberal arts background, I had a degree in finance and Wall Street experience, so I knew what I was talking about. But rather than learn from a City College kid, the Ivy Leaguer just sort of rolled his eyes. Condescendingly. I’ll never forget it. God forbid he leave the impression that a mere editor like myself knew more about something than did Barack. He was like that."
If the above is really true, that should be an immediate disqualifier for Obama. Such a level of arrogance on the part of a leader, manifested by an unwillingness to learn from people he considers him intellectual inferiors (ie, almost everybody), will have a very harmful effect on any organization.
If the above is really true, that should be an immediate disqualifier for Obama. Such a level of arrogance on the part of a leader, manifested by an unwillingness to learn from people he considers him intellectual inferiors (ie, almost everybody), will have a very harmful effect on any organization.
Heh. Dave, if arrogance is a disqualifier for office, most of the statehouses and the Congress are gonna look mighty empty…
Martin…there’s arrogance and then there’s arrogance. A person can have a very high opinion of himself and still be willing to learn from people in less powerful positions and with less-impressive backgrounds. But when the arrogance shuts off the possibility of learning from all but a small segment of people, it becomes dangerous.
"But when the arrogance shuts off the possibility of learning from all but a small segment of people, it becomes dangerous."
Isn’t this exactly the claim the Left makes about GW Bush? Now we’re going to start saying the same about Obama?
I hope there are more substantive arguments against Obama than "he rolled his eyes at me when I tried to explain the nuances of interest rate swaps."
Yeah, that’s really going to play on main street.
"Interest rate what?"
CosmicConservative’s last blog post..Dadman’s iPod Sampler
President Bush is often accused of that, but then, we have all sorts of other reports of him being very down to earth and listening very carefully to people and taking what they say quite seriously. There’s a balance there.
While I can’t prove it, I suspect there are plenty of people who can say the same for Senator Obama. Our friend John Eddy has actually met the Senator and, even though he’s pretty much a Republican leaning guy, he came away impressed–and John’s not the type to be dazzled by Ivy Leaguers. Maybe he’d have some insight?
Dean:
Yeah, that’s my point. Attempting to caricature your opponent in a particular negative way is a useful political tool, it’s all about "crafting the narrative" and that’s a good part of what campaign operatives are paid to do.
But what has happened in our country in the past few decades is that too many people don’t know when they are campaigning and when they are debating. In that respect the Left has been campaigning against GW Bush since November of 2000, and they’ve never let up. (In fact Obama is STILL campaigning against Bush.) So ALL they ever do is paint a caricature. In fact it has been so pervasive that a large fraction of liberals I know ACTUALLY BELIEVE THE CARICATURE and therefore act as if it were true.
Which is one big reason Bush beat them again in 2004.
What I’m saying is that I sure hope the Right doesn’t adopt that same attitude if Obama gets elected. I’d like to think we can address Obama as a human being with a flawed ideology, not as a pathetic caricature who deserves nothing but ridicule.
Seriously, I hope we don’t see any "Obama Derangement Syndrome." Surely after suffering from the Left’s excesses for the last eight years, we won’t resort to the same tactics and techniques.
Surely not.
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Seriously, I hope we don’t see any "Obama Derangement Syndrome." Surely after suffering from the Left’s excesses for the last eight years, we won’t resort to the same tactics and techniques.
Surely not.
Somehow, I hear Supertramp…
Dreamer, you know you are a dreamer
Well can you put your hands in your head, oh no!
The ODS began months ago. I’m grateful that it seems to have ebbed, but I’m sure it’s still out there.
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