Monthly archive: March, 2008

This morning I was reading the NY Times online, as I do every morning, and I ran across an article about Barack Obama’s mother.

I think by now we have all heard about his father and how he came from Kenya and died young, about his pastor and the outrageous things he has said, and even an anti-war activist that Obama is supposed to admire. For all of these things the conservative talk show hosts insist he should be disqualified in the minds of voters as a viable candidate for president. But we have not heard much about Obama’s mother.

Even Obama’s memoir doesn’t discuss her much, spending more time on his search for his African-American identity. My guess is that her loss is so stark and close to the bone he is unable to talk about it without becoming emotional–a clear sign in the eyes of most men in America that a person is unfit to become president. Remember Ed Muskey.

The article in the Times today made me cry, so I can only imagine the loss for Obama. This was a woman I would have loved to have known. Stolen from us at the young age of 53 to ovarian cancer, she left behind a legacy of original thinking, free spirited independence, and sacrifice in the rearing of two children as a single mother. Having been a single mother myself, I related to her struggle and the choices made for the betterment of those who survive her.

Geraldine Ferraro said Obama wouldn’t be where he is unless he was black. I say he wouldn’t be here without his mother’s influence. Born Stanley Ann Dunham, perhaps the mere fact that she was named for the boy her father wanted set her apart from most women of that era. She lived life to the fullest extent possible for herself and yet raised two children who have become successful in their own right.

So today, when we see women like Silda Spitzer stand beside their husbands as they admit their foibles to the world we can also remember that there are courageous women who are going it alone because they refuse to settle for second best.