From Dr. Soetoro: President Obama's Mother

I just ran across this Op Ed Piece in the New York Times, and it took me utterly by surprise. After reading Obama's first book, "Dreams from My Father" I thought I had a pretty solid account of his upbringing: what shaped him, inspired this US president and gave rise to his way of governance, inspiring rhetoric and actions. But Dr. Michael Dove's piece about President Obama's mother, Ann Dunham Soetoro, gives me pause. His writing makes me consider anew the roots of Barack Obama, and how his leadership might have been impacted subtly or quite directly by this woman.

Here's an excerpt from today's Op/Ed piece followed by a link to the full article. I encourage everyone to check it out. I welcome responses.

Running through Dr. Soetoro's doctoral research, as through all her work, was a challenge to popular perceptions regarding economically and politically marginalized groups; she showed that the people at society's edges were not as different from the rest of us as is often supposed. Dr. Soetoro was also critical of the pernicious notion that the roots of poverty lie with the poor themselves and that cultural differences are responsible for the gap between less-developed countries and the industrialized West.

Op-Ed Contributor

Dreams From His Mother

By MICHAEL R. DOVE

Published: August 10, 2009

Love,

Melissa