Many a Rich Child Has Grown Up in the Arms of a Poor Mother

One of the things which really grates my nerves is how many ignorant people out there believe Senator Obama is a terrorist, evil, anti-American, anti-white, etc., etc., ad nauseum.

Time and again, Faux News (FOX) and Oxy Boy (Rush Limbaugh) paint Senator Obama as a cold, hard, calculating politician who has no heart for the common man.

Well, here's a story from this morning which shows you the kind of heart and kindness which Obama has carried into this most momentous election. It's a story about Obama from 20 years ago, told by parents of a young girl who was stranded at an American airport, short of money.

This comes from The Ladner Report, and I'm going to take the liberty of re-printing the whole story here on my blog, just so that you can pass it on to those who continue to try and slime the good-hearted man, Senator Obama. This, folks, is another shining example of the type of man Barrack Obama has been all his life: a man of good conscience, kindness, and no racist tendencies whatsoever. Keep in mind, Barrack Obama was a student at Harvard University, where he did NOT use affirmative action to gain admittance. Instead, he filled out his application and applied on his grades and other merits earned in High Schhol. Unlike George W. Bush and John McCain who were admitted to Yale and the Naval Academy respectively on "legacy" affirmative action made possible by their famous fathers and their famous fathers's donations to the respective school.

This will go to show you the kind of man who will inherit the White House this coming January. It can't happen soon enough for freethinkers such as myself:

Oct 05, 2008

The Norwegian newspaper VG has reported a truly amazing story about a newly-wed trying to get to Norway to be with her husband, and the stranger who helped pay an unexpected luggage surcharge.

The blog "Leisha's Random Thoughts" has translated the story.

It was 1988, and Mary Andersen was at the Miami airport checking in for a long flight to Norway to be with her husband when the airline representative informed her that she wouldn't be able to check her luggage without paying a 100 surcharge:When it was finally Mary’s turn, she got the message that would crush her bubbling feeling of happiness.

"You’ll have to pay a 103 dollar surcharge if you want to bring both those suitcases to Norway," the man behind the counter said.

Mary had no money. Her new husband had travelled ahead of her to Norway, and she had no one else to call.

"I was completely desperate and tried to think which of my things I could manage without. But I had already made such a careful selection of my most prized possessions," says Mary.

As tears streamed down her face, she heard a "gentle and friendly voice" behind her saying, "That's okay, I'll pay for her." Mary turned around to see a tall man whom she had never seen before.

"He had a gentle and kind voice that was still firm and decisive. The first thing I thought was, Who is this man?"

Although this happened 20 years ago, Mary still remembers the authority that radiated from the man.

"He was nicely dressed, fashionably dressed with brown leather shoes, a cotton shirt open at the throat and khaki pants," says Mary.

She was thrilled to be able to bring both her suitcases to Norway and assured the stranger that he would get his money back. The man wrote his name and address on a piece of paper that he gave to Mary. She thanked him repeatedly. When she finally walked off towards the security checkpoint, he waved goodbye to her.

Who was the man?

Barack Obama.

Twenty years later, she is thrilled that the friendly stranger at the airport may be the next President and has voted for him already and donated 100 dollars to his campaign:

"He was my knight in shining armor," says Mary, smiling.

She paid the 103 dollars back to Obama the day after she arrived in Norway. At that time he had just finished his job as a poorly paid community worker* in Chicago, and had started his law studies at prestigious Harvard university.

Mary even convinced her parents to vote for him:In the spring of 2006 Mary’s parents had heard that Obama was considering a run for president, but that he had still not decided. They chose to write a letter in which they told him that he would receive their votes. At the same time, they thanked Obama for helping their daughter 18 years earlier.

And Obama replied: In a letter to Mary’s parents dated May 4th, 2006 and stamped ‘United States Senate, Washington DC’, Barack Obama writes:

‘I want to thank you for the lovely things you wrote about me and for reminding me of what happened at Miami airport. I’m happy I could help back then, and I’m delighted to hear that your daughter is happy in Norway. Please send her my best wishes. Sincerely, Barack Obama, United States Senator’.

The parents sent the letter on to Mary.

Mary says that when her friends and associates talk about the election, especially when race relations is the heated subject, she relates the story of the kind man who helped out a stranger-in-need over twenty years ago, years before he had even thought about running for high office.

Truly a wonderful story, and something that needs to be passed along in the maelstorm of fear-and-smear politics we are being subjected to right now.

UPDATE: Thanks for the recommends, folks! Also, remember this was 1988, when 100 dollars was quite a bit of money, compared to today's value.

By the way, this would be the perfect antidote to the Smear E-mails going around. If anyone has a good long email chain list, shoot it out, and let it be passed along.