158 Days Remaining!

Encompassing his days at both Punahou in Hawaii and Occidental College in Los Angeles, the following two “Reasons” from 203 Reasons Not to Vote for Barack Obama, show a teenager out of control and a man capable of holding a grudge in a manner and for a length of time, reminiscent of the classic Mafioso.  But, this is neither.  This is the President of the United States.

Reason #3

Obama the Drunk Punk

We know very little about President Obama’s school years, except that which he opted to share through his book: Dreams from my Father.  Among the elements comprising his literary self portrait is this passage:

“…the swagger that carries me into a classroom drunk or high, knowing that my teachers will smell beer or reefer on my breath, just daring them to say something.”

This is the President with the bad boy rock star persona, carefully crafted to attract America’s youth.  This is the President who supports the “Occupy” movement – home to drugs, violence, filth, interference with private business and destruction of property.  This is the President who sends patriotic young men and women into combat and who controls our nuclear arsenal.

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Reason #4

Obama: Capable of Decades Old Grudge?

Obama’s characterization of his relationship with his high school coach – Coach McLachlin – was that  “…there was some strain,” when he first joined the team.

“Coach McLachlin was a terrific coach, but he was also Mr. Fundamentals. He was very big on picks and rolls and bounce passes and chest passes. He never cared for behind-the-back passes, or spin moves. So we had some conflict. We had some tension. In retrospect, I realize that he probably was right in most of our disagreements. At the time I thought he was unfair. But he was a terrific coach, we had a terrific team and we had some great players. I have very fond memories of our team.”^[i]

Although coach McLachlin apparently has good reason to believe that their disagreement is now behind them, one article says, ”those close to Obama say that the clash still rankles with him.”^[ii] David Mendell, author of Obama: From Promise to Power, writes that when he mentioned McLachlin to Obama in 2004, he got “a visceral reaction” – that it “was one of the moments when Obama’s short fuse and healthy ego slipped out from behind his cool exterior.”^[iii]  If that is indeed the truth, it reveals an almost frightening aspect of Obama’s personality – the ability to sustain a grudge – even one resulting from perceived childhood slights – for more than a quarter century!