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Friends say drugs played only bit part for Obama


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Nearly three decades ago, Barack Obama stood out on the small campus of Occidental College in Los Angeles for his eloquence, intellect and activism against apartheid in South Africa. But Mr. Obama, then known as Barry, also joined in the party scene.


While he would sometimes attend parties held by black students and Latinos, Amiekoleh Usafi, a classmate who also spoke at the rally, recalled seeing him at parties put together by the political and artistic set.

Ms. Usafi, whose name at Occidental was Kim Kimbrew, said the most she saw Mr. Obama indulging in were cigarettes and beer.

“I would never say that he was a druggie, and there were plenty there,” she said. “He was too cool for all that.”
covelogibbs

16 responses // Friends say drugs played only bit part for Obama

  • Occidental College!!! woot!!!
    i didn't know that Obama went there. Thats sick. Finally we may get an activist to be an active president.
    thisisonelongname
  • why is past drug use such a big issue? People need to grow up! To seriously decide not to vote on someone because they *shock* used drugs in college *omifreakingod* is a sign of sheer immaturity and stupidity.
    SamuraiDave
  • And. This is not real news.
    ThinkAbroad
  • He is such a good looking chap.
    carrilynn23
  • Christ! Why do my hands still smell like burgers? I washed them an hour ago after I had fast food. They should call it fast gross.

    Anywho, I think someone who has a bad drug experience or an overdose under their belt makes them more real, shows they're human and that they make mistakes. But, it's all diversion, confusing the real issues further. Like how the earth is trying to rid it of us. It's almost like humans are a cancer. But, whatev, at least momma's got her stories.
    Will_the_Thrill
  • GUEST WHAT PEOPLE EVERYONE HAS HAD SOME KIND OF EXPERIENCE WITH DRUGS.. MAYBE U USED, MAYBE U LIVED WITH SOME ONE WHO USED, WE ALL LOVE SOME WHO HAS BEEN EXPOSED TO DRUGS IN SOME WAY. HAVING HAD BRIEF EXPOSURE WITH DRUG AND BEING AN ADDICT ARE APPLES AND ORANGES... I WOULD BE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT THE CLINTON CONNECTION IN MENA, ARKANSAS// IF U R CURIOUS GOOGLE THE CLINTON CHRONICLES.. HE WAS A GREAT PRESIDENT BUT HIS RISE TO THE WHITEHOUSE IS FILLED WITH MISGIVINGS.
    fireyfree
  • Hmm.
    ILiveonaClock
  • so? he also himself admitted to herb smokin and cocaine usage. hopefully when he's prez he'll do something effective with the war on drugs, maybe declassify chemicals which we should be allowed to posses.
    Thargor19
  • I feel that this article was more of a positive contribution to Obama than a bash on his past and involvement in what any normal human indulges in at least once in his or her lifetime. A little activism and a little indulgence is a damn good combination.

    ballllllannnnceeeee!
    unusallymundane
  • http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0034-6705(197007)32%3A...
    Just as long as you consider context (the bottom third of the link)......
    savingdaylight
  • I find myself increasingly drawn to Obama (now that my choices have been limited) and a few years ago I probably would have found myself drawn to Huckabee as well. I am a child of a teenage mother and although my father didn't leave me my mother and he engaged in a divorce when I was very young. I lived in the inner city until I was a teen with my mom scraping every penny she had to get us out of the dangerous neighborhood we lived in. After two drive by shootings what parent wouldn't want to. I was lucky my mother found a supportive new spouse and my father scraped and saved so that my brother and I never knew we were poor growing up and that we received a good private education where we lived which was not an easy feat considering. It's the American dream to say that no one is limited by the circumstances of their birth. He is a worldly candidate who has seen and lived in several locations within this country and this world. I love that he has Muslim relatives and African relatives. I love that we have a person who not only can relate to the rest of the world but who the world can relate to. For the first time we will have a candidate whose ancestry is more reflective of the patchwork nation that we are. The fact that a man who grew up without a Father and who never had deep roots to any one place experimented mildly with drugs seem....human. It isn't a fine patch of moral clarity but it also takes real guts for a politician to admit to drug use. That being said I also had and have reasons for liking Richardson, Biden, Clinton, and even McCain and Huckabee.
    ocanada
  • This article is interesting to me because i feel that despite the positive tone to this particular article, the mere mention of Obama's college "activities" is something that will stick in voter's minds. One of those little talking points for the most dumbed down political analysis or voting issue. An insultingly simple tag-line.

    (I.E. 2004 John Kerry was a flip-flopper, or the even less imaginative, Hillary=Experience Obama=Change)

    and this is the tip of the iceberg...if this article is a "positive" note, then I cannot bear the thought of the below the belt- Rush Limbaugh, Karl Rove & Ann Coulter "Swift Boating" to come.

    And one final note:

    Didn't lil George W. snort a mountain of coke while skipping out on his duties in the Texas Air National Guard?
    CBDuBOSE
  • That is true, Evangelicals were willing to overlook it becasue he 'repented' and was born again. Journalists as shown in the film "Journey's with George" found his frat boy exterior charming and Gore's policy talk boring. It's part of the cult of personality that many worry has stunted out politcal discourse in this country. I think that it also worked well for Bill Clinton and the jokes about his not inhaling made him seem more human and though it didn't win him votes those that made it a major issue would more likely than not have been hard pressed to vote against him already. I am not however niave enough to think that republicans won't use it as a scare tactic.
    ocanada
  • It can only be good for Obama.
    VoyagerFilms
  • The war on drugs and terror have cost Americans more than we can ever know. Hundreds of thousands have died under our past(present) leaders. Myabe they could've used a puff.
    gr3g0r

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