Biography Barack Obama
When he called himself “a skinny kid with a funny name” at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, his political star was already on the rise. By the time he decimated the competition in 2004 race for the Illinois Senate, he was the bona fide golden child of a Democratic party desperately in need of a winner. In many ways, the story of Barack Obama is a uniquely American tale of the 21st century, where racial lines are blurry and the most interesting chapter is just beginning.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars An Accomplished and Talented Elected Official
Nope! Uhn-uhn! No way! Since I plan on getting on my knees and begging Obama for a job should he become president, I can’t sink my critical fangs into this like I would for other productions. I volunteered for Obama’s 2004 campaign and I’m very proud that he represents my state. But here are some items that may be helpful to other viewers.
For those asking, “Who is this Obama guy and where did he come from?”, this will answer many of those questions. It spells out his stellar credentials and demonstrates why it is sensible that he’d run for the White House. This work gave me visual images for facts about which I only heard. I heard that Obama’s sister was part-Asian and this documentary allowed me to see her. She pronounces her brother’s first name with a Southeast Asian staccato instead of the American schwa on the first syllable. I’ve never been to Kenya and you get beautiful shots of that country here.
Many installations in the “Biography” series are overly gushy and I wonder if the subject demanded that in order to be interviewed. Here, rather than sitting in front of A&E’s cameras, Obama is interviewed in profile and there’s no way to tell if he was only speaking to that cable channel. The work mentions low points for him. It states that his first autobiography got “lukewarm reviews” and that Bobby Rush beat him substantially in a congressional election.
The work doesn’t shy away from the fact that two of Obama’s election rivals were felled by sex scandals. However, I didn’t think they critiqued Alan Keyes enough. Keyes never lived in Illinois until his campaign, yet previously criticized Hilary Clinton for moving to and running in New York. Keyes upset many when he called Mary Cheney a “selfish hedonist,” yet his own daughter shares an identity with Ms. Cheney.
The work ends with individuals saying Obama could run for president, but it does not mention the launch of his presidential campaign, so it must have been produced for that time. The work has diverse interviewees in terms of race, gender, and age. The work emphasizes that Obama was one of the few Blacks in Hawaii, yet it never states that the state is very diverse and is the first majority-minority state in the nation.
5 Stars Very Informative
This is a very well constructed documentary that gives us a glimpse into the man behind one of the most historic candidacies for President that this country has ever seen. A balanced and insightful piece that is a great introduction to this rising star in American politics.
1 Star Incomplete and somewhat over-complimentary
I wish that this biography had more NEW information in it versus what is already easily publicly available via a Google search. Also, it seems a bit like a plug for Obama versus a factual account of his life and history.
5 Stars Barack’s Biography
The Barack Obama Biography was excellent. I intend to show it to everyone who has any doubts of his past.
He has excellent credentials. He is a brilliant man.
I guess if I had one thing to say about the video that I did not like…it would be it was not updated. They leave you at his election to the Senate. I would have liked to see it at least up to his entry into the Presidential Race.
Regardless, it was well worth the money and I enjoyed the biography very much.
5 Stars OBAMA BIOGRAPHY PRESENTS HIS “LIFE STORY” AND “SOME BASIC THEMES”
AS THOUGH IN ANTICIPATION OF A MAY 19, 2008 NEWSWEEK MAGAZINE FRONT COVER ENTITLED: “THE O-TEAM: OBAMA HAS SHOWN HE CAN RUN A CAMPAIGN, HE’D BETTER GET READY FOR A WAR,” ON MAY 7, 2008, IN AN ABC NEWS ARTICLE: “THE NOTE: `FIGHT IS OVER’: CLINTON NEEDED BIG VICTORY, OBAMA EMERGED,” BY RICK KLEIN WITH MIKE ELMORE:
FOLLOWING THE NORTH CAROLINA VICTORY BY OBAMA, IT WAS INDICATED:
“BARACK OBAMA NOT ONLY NEARLY CLINCHED THE DEMOCRATIC
NOMINATION TUESDAY NIGHT.
HE ALSO ANSWERED A BIG QUESTION ABOUT THE FALL CAMPAIGN, JONATHAN ALTER WRITES: “THE GLASS JAW THAT HILLARY CLINTON AND
JOHN MCCAIN THOUGHT THEY SAW TURNED OUT TO BE AN ILLUSION. IN
THE JINGLE OF THE OLD TIMEX WATCH ADS, HE TOOK A LICKING AND
KEPT ON TICKING.”
THE MAY 19, 2008 NEWSWEEK EDITORIAL RAISED THE QUESTION “CAN THE O-TEAM WITHSTAND AN ONSLAUGHT FROM JOHN MCCAIN AND THE REPUBLICANS, WHO’VE BEEN BIDING THEIR TIME WHILE THE DEMOCRATS HAVE BEEN ROUGHING EACH OTHER UP?”
THOUGH ALSO INDICATING THAT “PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS
EVENTUALLY SETTLE INTO CONTRASTING NARRATIVES OF THE
CANDIDATES BIOGRAPHIES, CHARACTER AND IDEOLOGY” AND THAT
BARACK OBAMA IN QUESTIONING THE VALUE OF HILLARY CLINTON’S
“WASHINGTON EXPERIENCE,” CONTENDED “THAT HIS WIDE-RANGING
BACKGROUND HAS IMBUED HIM WITH SUPERIOR JUDGMENT.”
BARACK OBAMA’S “BIOGRAPHY,” PUBLISHED IN 2007 PRIOR TO HIS 2008 CAMPAIGN, IS AN EXCELLENT COVERAGE OF THAT “WIDE-RANGING BACKGROUND.” AS THE MAY 19, 2008 TIME MAGAZINE IN THE ARTICLE, “HOW HE LEARNED TO WIN” BY MICHAEL WEISSKOPF, CHICAGO, INDICATED: “TROUNCED IN HIS FIRST BIG RACE (AGAINST FORMER ILLINOIS BLACK PANTHER PARTY CO-FOUNDER, BOBBY RUSH), BARACK OBAMA RETOOLED AND WON A SENATE SEAT. HOW THE WARD POLITICS IN CHICAGO GAVE OBAMA AN EDUCATION THAT HAS EARNED HIM A SHOT AT THE PRESIDENCY.”
I BELIEVE THAT THIS DVD BRINGS OUT “THE BASIC THEMES” REFERRED TO BY OBAMA’S CHIEF POLITICAL AND MEDIA ADVISER, A CHICAGO CONSULTANT NAMED DAVID AXELROD, “THE KING OF CHICAGO POLITICAL CONSULTANTS,” INDICATED, IN THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE, APRIL 1, 2007 ARTICLE: “OBAMA’S NARRATOR”:
” … ONE OF THE REASONS BUSH HAS SUCCEEDED IN TWO ELECTIONS,” AXELROD SAYS, “IS THAT IN HIS OWN ROUGH-HEWN WAY HE HAS CONVEYED A SENSE OF THIS IS WHO I AM, WARTS AND ALL.” … “AXELROD HAS WORKED THROUGH OBAMA’S LIFE STORY AGAIN AND AGAIN, SCOURING IT FOR USABLE POLITICAL MATERIAL AND HE BELIEVES THAT SOME BASIC THEMES COME THROUGH:
“THAT HE IS “NOT WEDDED TO ANY IDEOLOGICAL FRAME OR DOGMA,”
THAT HE IS “AN OUTSIDER RATHER THAN SOMEONE WHO’S SPENT YEARS IN THE DENS OF GEORGETOWN,”
THAT HE IS AN “AGENT FOR CHANGE” AND HAS THE OPTIMISM AND DYNAMISM OF A FRESH YOUNG FACE.”
Harold L Carter, Manager,
HistoryAfricanAfricanAmericanEgyptianHistory@groups.msn.com
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