Barack Obama - Revision history

Pacman at 20:54, 9 May 2024

2024-05-09T20:54:39Z

Pacman: /* Other Columbia coincidences */

2024-05-06T20:40:16Z

‎Other Columbia coincidences

Pacman at 03:23, 5 May 2024

2024-05-05T03:23:35Z

User: Obama's term is ending

2017-01-14T14:54:12Z

Obama's term is ending

Louisa: /* Extracurriculars */ grammar

2016-08-21T23:30:00Z

‎Extracurriculars: grammar

Admin: /* Recent relationship with Columbia */

2013-12-08T23:09:45Z

‎Recent relationship with Columbia

Pacman: /* Revisionism and Obama's Columbia Years */

2013-05-25T04:21:21Z

‎Revisionism and Obama's Columbia Years

Pacman: /* Columbia years */

2013-05-25T04:20:49Z

‎Columbia years

Pacman: /* Columbia years */

2013-05-25T04:20:14Z

‎Columbia years

Pacman: /* Recent relationship with Columbia */

2013-05-25T04:19:48Z

‎Recent relationship with Columbia

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 '''Barack Obama''' [[Columbia College|CC]] '[[1983|83]] was the 44th President of the United States. A former US Senator from [[w:Illinois|Illinois]], he is the first African-American to hold the nation's highest office.
-Obama is the first attendee of [[Columbia College]] to occupy the Oval Office (although he controversially never seemed to mention his alma mater much). Obama was also the first Columbia College alumnus to be nominated by a major modern party ticket, and the first CC alum to be a major party nominee since the Federalists nominated [[DeWitt Clinton]] in [[1812]].
+Obama is the first attendee of [[Columbia College]] to occupy the Oval Office (although he controversially never seemed to mention his alma mater much) and the first Columbia graduate to do so. Obama was also the first Columbia College alumnus to be nominated by a major modern party ticket, and the first CC alum to be a major party nominee since the Federalists nominated [[DeWitt Clinton]] in [[1812]].
-He is the second Columbia alumnus to win a [[Nobel Prize|Nobel Peace Prize]], after [[Nicholas Murray Butler]] in [[1931]]. [[Theodore Roosevelt]] also won a Peace Prize.
+He is the second Columbia alumnus to win a [[Nobel Prize|Nobel Peace Prize]], after [[Nicholas Murray Butler]] in [[1931]]. Dropout [[Theodore Roosevelt]] also won a Peace Prize.
 ==Columbia years==

@@ Line 85: / Line 85: @@
 In his primary fight to become the Democratic nominee, Obama faced, among others, [[GS]] alum [[Mike Gravel]]. His Republican opponent was [[John McCain]], a former [[Class Day]] speaker whose daughter, [[Meghan McCain]], was CC'07. In the general election, he also faced tickets with [[Wayne Allen Root]], also CC'83, the Libertarian Party vice presidential nominee, and independent vice presidential candidate [[Matt Gonzalez]] CC'87.
-Following his victory, Obama nominated [[Eric Holder]] CC'73 for Attorney General and [[Julius Genachowski]] CC'85 chairman of the FCC. [[Judd Gregg]] CC'69 was later nominated as Commerce Secretary, but later removed himself from consideration, citing irreconcilable differences with the administration.
+Following his victory, Obama nominated [[Eric Holder]] CC'73 for Attorney General and [[Julius Genachowski]] CC'85 chairman of the FCC. [[Judd Gregg]] CC'69 was later nominated as Commerce Secretary, but later removed himself from consideration, citing irreconcilable differences with the administration. [[Jeh Johnson]] Law '82 was later named Secretary for Homeland Security. Obama also made other appointments, including judicial ones, such as [[Joseph A. Greenaway]] CC '78.
 ==Revisionism and Obama's Columbia Years==

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 '''Barack Obama''' [[Columbia College|CC]] '[[1983|83]] was the 44th President of the United States. A former US Senator from [[w:Illinois|Illinois]], he is the first African-American to hold the nation's highest office.
-Obama is the first attendee of [[Columbia College]] to occupy the Oval Office. Obama was also the first Columbia College alumnus to be nominated by a major modern party ticket, and the first CC alum to be a major party nominee since the Federalists nominated [[DeWitt Clinton]] in [[1812]].
+Obama is the first attendee of [[Columbia College]] to occupy the Oval Office (although he controversially never seemed to mention his alma mater much). Obama was also the first Columbia College alumnus to be nominated by a major modern party ticket, and the first CC alum to be a major party nominee since the Federalists nominated [[DeWitt Clinton]] in [[1812]].
 He is the second Columbia alumnus to win a [[Nobel Prize|Nobel Peace Prize]], after [[Nicholas Murray Butler]] in [[1931]]. [[Theodore Roosevelt]] also won a Peace Prize.

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 [[Image:Obamany.jpg|thumb|right|Obama the Columbia undergrad, visiting [[Central Park]] ]]
-'''Barack Obama''' [[Columbia College|CC]] '[[1983|83]] is the 44th and current President of the United States. A former US Senator from [[w:Illinois|Illinois]], he is the first African-American and the first Columbia graduate to hold the nation's highest office.
+'''Barack Obama''' [[Columbia College|CC]] '[[1983|83]] was the 44th President of the United States. A former US Senator from [[w:Illinois|Illinois]], he is the first African-American to hold the nation's highest office.
-Obama is the first attendee of [[Columbia College]] and the first graduate of any Columbia school<ref>[[Theodore Roosevelt]] and [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] both attended [[Columbia Law School]], but neither graduated, as you only needed to pass the bar after 2 years of school to practice law. One Roosevelt dropped out after passing the bar, the other after being elected to the NY State Assembly. [[Dwight Eisenhower]] never attended Columbia, but rather served as a somewhat absentee President of the University while biding his time to run for the Presidency.</ref>, to occupy the Oval Office. Obama was also the first Columbia College alumnus to be nominated by a major modern party ticket, and the first CC alum to be a major party nominee since the Federalists nominated [[DeWitt Clinton]] in [[1812]].
+Obama is the first attendee of [[Columbia College]] to occupy the Oval Office. Obama was also the first Columbia College alumnus to be nominated by a major modern party ticket, and the first CC alum to be a major party nominee since the Federalists nominated [[DeWitt Clinton]] in [[1812]].
-He is the second Columbia alumnus to win a [[Nobel Prize|Nobel Peace Prize]], after [[Nicholas Murray Butler]] in [[1931]]. [[Theodore Roosevelt]] also won a Peace Prize, but is not formally an alumnus.
+He is the second Columbia alumnus to win a [[Nobel Prize|Nobel Peace Prize]], after [[Nicholas Murray Butler]] in [[1931]]. [[Theodore Roosevelt]] also won a Peace Prize.
-Obama maintains a somewhat distant relationship to Columbia today. While he has turned down invitations to official Columbia events and appeared to deemphasize his Columbia years in the course of his campaign, Obama has sent personal notes to alumni of his class and is a donor to the university.
+==Columbia years==
-==Columbia years==
+[[Image:Obama-columbia.png|thumb|right|Obama wearing Columbia t-shirt]]
 [[Image:Obamasiddiqi.jpg|thumb|right|Obama with his Pakistani friend Sohale Siddiqi in Obama's 109th St. apartment, 1981]]
@@ Line 73: / Line 73: @@
 ==Recent relationship with Columbia==
-Many Columbia students [[w:The Audacity of Hope|audaciously hoped]] he would win the Democratic primary and the national election. Obama, however, appeared to tend to forget or ignore his Columbia affiliation, preferring to mention that he attended [[Harvard|Harvard Law School]].
+Many Columbia students [[w:The Audacity of Hope|audaciously hoped]] he would win the Democratic primary and the national election.
 He has repeatedly turned down requests to be the [[Class Day]] speaker in recent years, as well as general requests to appear from the [[College Democrats]]. Recently, CC Class of 2011 President [[Sean Udell]] spearheaded the "POTUS Project" to get the president to speak at [[University Commencement]], an honor traditionally reserved for the [[University President]] alone. President [[Lee Bollinger]], however, cosigned the initiative<ref>http://www.columbiaspectator.com/2010/10/14/ccsc-launches-potus-project-0</ref>, to little avail.

@@ Line 51: / Line 51: @@
 ===Extracurriculars===
-In spring 1983, Obama wrote at least one article for the now defunct campus publication ''[[Sundial (magazine)|Sundial]]'', a discussion of the aims and methods of campus anti-war groups.<ref>http://www.politico.com/static/PPM116_obamaessay.html </ref> His friend Phil Boerner explains that during this period, Obama wanted to be writer rather than a politician.
+In spring 1983, Obama wrote at least one article for the now defunct campus publication ''[[Sundial (magazine)|Sundial]]'', a discussion of the aims and methods of campus anti-war groups.<ref>http://www.politico.com/static/PPM116_obamaessay.html </ref> His friend Phil Boerner explains that during this period, Obama wanted to be a writer rather than a politician.
 Obama also claims to have participated to some extent in anti-apartheid activities with the [[Black Students Organization]].

@@ Line 79: / Line 79: @@
 Obama did, however, note that Columbia was his alma mater while visiting during the [[ServiceNation Presidential Candidates Forum]], and sent a letter to the attendees of the Class of 1983's 25th reunion gathering. Obama's 2009 tax filings revealed what may be stirrings of latent loyalty to the institution: Obama donated $1,000 to Columbia that fiscal year, giving nothing to Harvard.
-In [[2012]], Obama spoke at the [[Class Day]] of [[Barnard College]]. This caused considerable consternation in the Columbia College community, especially among those who had been organizing to bring him to campus as a Class Day speaker for CC. The ''[[New York Times]]'' speculated that the reasoning was tied to the political issues surrounding women's health at the time.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/us/politics/obama-will-speak-at-barnard-graduation.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1330794112-IRvF63PYWJu3Y6zj7xYWSA</ref>
+In [[2012]], Obama spoke at the [[Class Day]] of [[Barnard College]]. This caused considerable consternation in the Columbia College community (see "[[Obamanard]]"), especially among those who had been organizing to bring him to campus as a Class Day speaker for CC. The ''[[New York Times]]'' speculated that the reasoning was tied to the political issues surrounding women's health at the time.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/us/politics/obama-will-speak-at-barnard-graduation.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1330794112-IRvF63PYWJu3Y6zj7xYWSA</ref>
 ==Other Columbia coincidences==

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 ==Revisionism and Obama's Columbia Years==
-As with the 'birther' movement's obsession with the veracity of Obama's birth records, occasional hoaxes and misinformation are promulgated surrounding his time at Columbia or a fictitious "thesis" written while a student<ref>http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/10/25/2009-10-25_limbaugh_falls_for_obama_thesis_hoax__but_is_in_no_rush_to_apologize.html</ref>
+As with the 'birther' movement's obsession with the veracity of Obama's birth records, occasional hoaxes and misinformation are promulgated surrounding his time at Columbia or a fictitious "thesis" written while a student.<ref>http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/10/25/2009-10-25_limbaugh_falls_for_obama_thesis_hoax__but_is_in_no_rush_to_apologize.html</ref>
 ==References==

@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 [[Image:Obama tenement.jpg|thumb|right|A more recent image of the Yorkville apartment on East 94th where Obama lived during most of his time at Columbia]]
-[[Image:Obamastudent.jpg|thumb|right|Obama in the winter of 1981, looking like he just mugged someone for food money.]]
+[[Image:Obamastudent.jpg|thumb|right|Obama not looking very happy in the winter of 1981]]
 [[Image:Obama grandparents.jpg|thumb|right|Obama gets a visit from his grandparents during his Columbia years]]