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Spectator's Journal
Are You — and Donald Trump — Obama’s Brother’s Keeper?
Charitable giving is not exactly the President’s strong suit — better to rely on Dinesh D’Souza.
Donald Trump has offered President Barack Obama $5 million to the charity of his choice if Obama opens his college records. Obama has until 5:00 Wednesday afternoon to respond. Trump should expect nothing. Not only does Obama not want us to see those records, but he could care less about the $5 million in charity. Obama, after all, gives very little to charity. For Obama, like many liberals, “charity” is forced government redistribution; they coerce money from the likes of Trump (and those of far lesser incomes) to be redirected to others with less money — from the makers to the takers.
A telling illustration of Obama’s personal lack of charity is the situation with his half brother, George Obama. George is interviewed in Dinesh D’Souza’s film “2016: Obama’s America.” As D’Souza shows graphically, George lives in a shanty house in Nairobi, Kenya, surviving on a few dollars a month.
George apparently took a liking to D’Souza. Remarkably, he recently phoned D’Souza from Kenya. It was an emergency. Obama’s brother needed healthcare. He explained to D’Souza that his child was in the hospital, ailing from a “chest condition.” He needed a quick $1,000 for the medical bills.
“Since George was at the hospital I asked him to let me speak to a nurse,” says D’Souza, “and she confirmed that George’s son was indeed ill.” D’Souza immediately sent the money via Western Union.
And here’s the kicker: As D’Souza relates, “Before I hung up, I asked George, ‘Why are you coming to me?’ He said, ‘I have no one else to ask.’ Then he said something that astounded me, ‘Dinesh, you are like a brother to me.’”
That’s touching. In fact, however, Dinesh D’Souza is not a brother to George Obama. Barack Obama is. And Obama is a millionaire. Why didn’t George go to his real brother for support? Better, why doesn’t Obama go to him?
But, alas, there’s more. This whole sorry thing is actually even worse. Consider:
As president, Barack Obama has not been shy about invoking his faith — and with no protest from liberals who went wild every time George W. Bush even mentioned God. Obama has invoked his faith in support of everything from “Obamacare” to gay marriage. Most of all, Obama constantly uses the phrase “my brother’s keeper.” It has become the signature line for his public expression of faith. My colleague, Dr. Gary Smith, author of the authoritative Faith and the Presidency: From George Washington to George W. Bush, reports that Obama has used the phrase 57 times. The Presidential Papers reveal 17 instances of Obama using the phrase over the last 12 months, 11 of them at fundraisers.
“I am my brother’s keeper,” said President Obama in Atlanta recently. “Each of us is only here because somebody somewhere was looking out for us. It started in the family, but it wasn’t just the immediate family…. Our story has never been about what we can do alone. It’s what we do together.”
For Obama, this is an exhortation to help one another, from our literal brothers to our brothers in the wider community and world.
To be sure, the “brother’s keeper” passage is an odd choice. It comes from the Old Testament remark of Cain after he murdered his brother Abel. God asks Cain where his brother is. Cain replies, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
It is a bad moment. Given the roots of the phrase — the first murder, of a sibling no less — it’s a strange formulation for making the case of helping our brother, or our neighbor, or the needy. A phrase like “love thy neighbor,” a favorite of George W. Bush, is far more preferable, and certainly derived from an infinitely better source.
But here’s the kicker:
Who is Obama’s brother’s keeper? That is, who is George Obama’s keeper? Well, it certainly isn’t Barack Obama. Lately, it’s Dinesh D’Souza. Or, more specifically, it’s all of us, you and me — everyone but Barack Obama.
For those who find this hypocritical of Obama, they should understand it’s actually not all that inconsistent. Barack Obama is from the “social justice” Religious Left (see here, here, and here). Many religious liberals link “compassion” and even “charity” not to individual action but government action. Obviously, that’s totally misguided.
About the Author
Paul Kengor is professor of political science and executive director of The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College. He is author of the new book The Communist: Frank Marshall Davis, The Untold Story of Barack Obama’s Mentor. His other books include The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism and Dupes: How America’s Adversaries Have Manipulated Progressives for a Century.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (29) | Leave a comment
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Jack in Wi| 10.31.12 @ 7:00AM
Well! When you have almost a dozen half brothers, most of whom you haven't met, it is hard to keep up with there problems. Look at Clinton. His daddy let a bunch of siblings for Bill that he didn't know about until he became famous. Lincoln was a cheapskate with his relatives as well. His stepmother lived in poverty while he was a rich lawyer. He did send her a few bucks every so often so she wouldn't end up on the county and embaress him. I lost a lot of respect for Bob Dole when he said that he had to sign the welfare checks for his grandparents when he was a young DA in Kansas. He should have helped them out himself and so sshould have his other relatives. There are plenty of conservatives who shun their reponsiblities and dump their relatives on Title 19 or in pubic housing when they could help them out without much real effort.
John Navratil| 10.31.12 @ 7:54AM
Jack in Wi,
I lost respect for Bob Dole because he was a RINO. Why do you think he picked Kemp, other than to appeal to conservatives who otherwise had little use for him? He cashed in every chitty he had to get the endorsement of the old guard because it was his turn to run for President. To hell with the country and the party. He is a symbol of everything wrong with the Republican party that has so consistently failed conservatives.
So, could you name of few of the "plenty of conservatives who shun their reponsiblities and dump their relatives on Title 19 or in pubic housing?" Bob Dole is not a shining example even supposing that, as a young county attorney, he had the resources to support his grandparents.
Jack in Wi| 10.31.12 @ 8:37AM
I remember one fairly well to do guy, who was a conservative, who had his mother in public housing for the elderly when he had a big home where he could have found a place for her. It was not in the best neighborhood either. Well maybe the mother wanted her independence. I have heard of many comservative well off people who put their parents on Title 19 when the money of the parents runs out. Well nursing homes cost a lot of money. Years ago if you dumped your parents on the county, they came after you for some money to help out.
The Avenger| 10.31.12 @ 10:32AM
Jack, you know so little about conservatives. I am a proud conservative and I don't rely on government to help my struggling son. You know, the one who can't get a decent job because Obama's economy sucks. I am retired but I bought a repossesed home and fixed it up for my son to live in. He shops for meat in MY freezer, not yours. I help him with gasoline purchases because Obama's policies have driven the price through the roof. If you want to help the less fortunate, get up off your whiney liberal ass and give of yourself, meanwhile I will take care of the children that I brought into this world.
Appleby| 10.31.12 @ 7:27AM
My cat does not like other cats, because (I think) they remind her that SHE is a cat, and not as she imagines, a person. I believe that Obama avoids his brothers and sisters, cousins and aunts because they remind him who he is, and who he is is not what he thinks himself to be. Obama hangs out with wealthy successful White folks and movie stars of all hues, under the delusion that what they are will rub off on him. Unfortunately, my cat remains a cat regardless of what she thinks. And Obama remains what his brothers and sisters and cousins and aunts are, too.
David T| 10.31.12 @ 9:28AM
But Obama loves to invoke the name of "Granny Sarah," the thrid wife of his paternal grandfather. She runs a Sharia school in Kenya.
Jack of Spades| 10.31.12 @ 8:08AM
Obama, like most liberals, propounds the social gospel because it fuses their self-described compassion with their obvious lust for power. It's their take on Churchill's phrase about "blood, sweat, toil, and tears. " Their hearts do the bleeding, their eyes shed the tears while someone else does the toiling and sweating.
Mike G| 10.31.12 @ 8:15AM
Yet another addition to the list of Obama's shirked responsibilities.
Kwan| 10.31.12 @ 8:56AM
Obama and the left like to extract lines from the bible to prove that God and Jesus support Marxist ideology. Somehow I doubt that God or Jesus are very enthusiastic about an ideology, that has resulted in the murder of millions of people.
Alan| 10.31.12 @ 8:19PM
Sshhhhhhhhh, Those were just bad leftists, you know, Uncle Joe Stalin, cousin Mao, and the rest of the leftist/marxist rogues gallery. Oh, those tens and hundreds of millions they murdered under the jackbot of communism? Just an unforunate accident. The new leftists, Obamao and their ilk, nothing like that could happen with these compassionate "new" leftists, right?
CJW| 10.31.12 @ 8:58AM
Several very rich friends who vote Dem regularly told me they do not need SS and tax rates should be higher. I told them they can voluntarily pay more in tax, or stop taking the deductions, such as the business lunch deduction, and also each month they can send a check to the Treasury to return the SS amount, or donate it to charity. They said they will do it only if everyone else does it.
They voted for Clinton and Obama. They are not interested in helping but in forcing others to pay for their vision.
MOS was 71331| 10.31.12 @ 10:43AM
Perhaps Trump should change the terms of his offer to be a $5 M donation to 0bama's election campaign if he, 0bama, produces the documents and a $5 M donation to Romney's campaign if 0bama doesn't. Make it clear with a nice ad that 0bama would be walking away from easy money and helping his election opponent by not producing the docs.
C Smith | 10.31.12 @ 11:08AM
Regarding "my brother's keeper" and other things Team Obama got woefully backwards:
"I came to my Christian faith later in life and it was because the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead. Being my brother's and sisters’ keeper, treating others as they would treat me..." (President Barack Hussein Obama during a pre-election campaign stop in Albuquerque, N.M.).
Remember little red riding hood and that one particularly intense moment when she says: "Grandmother, what big teeth you have"? No matter how hard the big bad wolf tried, there are some things a wolf just can't fake.
Same with President Obama today. Even with an army of ghost writers scripting the answer for an obviously staged question, faking faith just isn't easy. Here are just a few of the words of Scripture Team Obama got woefully backwards:
"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them..." (Matthew 7:12).
http://popularapostasy.blogspo.....st+writers
C. Vernon Crisler | 10.31.12 @ 11:25AM
Cain was being sarcastic. A keeper is someone who keeps lions or sheep penned up or in a cage. The duty of Cain was to be his brother's brother, not his keeper, as if Abel were a sheep who need to be kept.
RCV| 10.31.12 @ 11:43AM
Dinesh should have shown as much compassion for his wife and his responsibilities to King's College.
John Navratil| 10.31.12 @ 3:10PM
RCV,
Yes, stunning that a man separated from his wife for two years should be seeing someone else! He may be a sinner, but the topic was mooching off others.
CJW| 10.31.12 @ 4:14PM
You seem obsessed with Dinesh,but very forgiving for Bubba, for whom you voted, and for other Dems such as John Edwards and Jesse Jackson.
Butch| 10.31.12 @ 5:20PM
And Teddy, Gary Hart, Spitzer, and Weiner. We can all play that game.
CJW| 11.1.12 @ 5:16PM
Add Bob Menendez of NJ.
RCV| 10.31.12 @ 10:51PM
I have opposed and attacked John Edwards and Jesse Jackson for years - Edwards when he was still the Golden Boy for many Dems. I always thought he was a sleazy lying plaintiffs personal injury lawyer. And I've not hesitated to criticize Clinton's moral failings. What is especially galling about Dinesh D'Souza is the way he has purported to set himself up as a moral arbiter leading the West back to Christian morals. In fact, he's a hypocrite, and Kings College was so right to give him the quick bum's rush he deserved.
CJW| 11.1.12 @ 5:17PM
Yes, but you still voted for Bubba, a serial sexual harasser, especially of a young subordinate employee. If you did that you would have been fired.
RCV| 11.1.12 @ 7:05PM
I voted for Clinton in 1992 and 1996, and would do so again given those same choices. As for Ms. Lewinsky, it is very hard for me to picture her as the victim of much other than a desire for fame, loose morals and bedazzlement with power. No excuse for Clinton's sexual compulsiveness and his willingness to jeapordize the whole country and the Democratic agenda to get his rocks off. It is on him that I place full blame for sujecting the country to eight years of George Bush, a foolish and eternally damaging war in Iraq -- a war that not only killed thousands of young Americans, but one that empowered and solidifed Iran and militant Shiiism as the dominant Middle Eastern power and allowed the righteous war against Al-Qaeda to get diverted and ignored during his tenure. For that, even more than for his sexual immorality and betrayal of his marriage vows, Clinton will bear eternal damnation.
CJW| 11.1.12 @ 8:00PM
Interesting. Following this logic Clinton is also responsible for the four wasted years of Obama with the deficit and unemployment, the Benghazi deaths and coverup, the over one thousand deaths in Afghan for no reason since Obama is withdrawing, and Al Quaeda is resurgent.
While Bush I and Dole were not good campaigners, both were honorable, decent, patriotic war heroes who would have responded to the numerous terrorist attacks during the Clinton debacle. We would not have been viewed as weak and probably would not have had 9/11.
You hurt you argument by saying you would vote for Bubba instead of Bush and Dole knowing how awful Bubba was.
RCV| 11.2.12 @ 5:50PM
Only in your view, because you support the political policies of Bush and Dole. They were ineed both honorable decent patriotic war heroes (as was John Kerry, despite your efforts to tarnish him). But I would never subject the nation to the policies they espouse.
Albert Constantine Jr.| 10.31.12 @ 6:25PM
I'll keep that in mind in case Dinesh runs for office, because, as we said in 1992, "Character Matters".
Seek| 11.1.12 @ 1:52PM
As an aside, I've read in several places that D'Souza's base salary as head of King's College was a princely $1 million. That's exhorbitant compensation even for someone in his position who is doing his job, especially for a tiny institution. It tells me, among other things, that Dinesh probably anticipated his estranged wife and her attorney going for the gold when he took the position.
MOS was 71331| 10.31.12 @ 1:49PM
0bama has relatives in the US illegally AND living in public housing. Rather than supporting members of his own family, he happily directs our tax dollars their way!
Buck Ofama| 10.31.12 @ 2:04PM
>Not only does Obama not want us to see those records, but he could care less about the $5 million in charity.
How much less could Ovomit care?
How much less?
Hey author, you're supposed to be properly qualified to write editorials. Don't use "could care less"; use "could NOT care less".
Ronsch| 10.31.12 @ 2:44PM
Come on, ya'all...You know what will happen...just like the birth certificate...NerObama will shuck and jive, offer up some doctored/phony/forged (take your pick) college transcripts, take the $5 million, give it to Granny Sarah's "charity organization" and take a healthy cut for himself as the funds get diverted to sharia education and Muslim brotherhood mosque support in the Middle East.