Thursday, August 21, 2008

Obama's brother thinks the media is biased against McCain?

Instapundit has a discussion regarding Obama's laughable claim that Americans are selfish. The DC Examiner essay he links to quotes an interesting and cogently argued piece which should put this myth to rest once and for all (it appeared in The American, an excellent periodical published by the American Enterprise Institute).
In the context of this discussion, Glenn also links to a story which has been making the rounds about the fact that the Italian edition of Vanity Fair has identified one of Barack Obama's half brothers in a Kenyan slum.
Though this seems to me a trivial matter, I am intrigued by a minor detail: many news outlets have reported the story (which doesn't seem to be posted online at Condé Nast's Italian website) mentioning George Hussein Onyango's living conditions and quoting some of his thoughts. However the Italian press has reported that he said something I haven't seen in the English-language press. According to La Stampa:
Ma a differenza degli altri familiari di Barack, lui appare infastidito dal clamore che circonda il fratellastro: «Obama, Obama, sempre Obama, ma non dovreste parlare anche di McCain?», dice. E a chi gli chiede informazioni risponde che non sono neanche parenti: «Mi vergogno, c’è poco di cui vantarsi».
Which means (my translation):
However unlike Barack's other family members, he seems irritated by the media circus surrounding his half-brother: "Obama, Obama, always Obama; shouldn't they also talk about McCain?", he says. And to those who ask him for information he tells them they aren't even related: "I am ashamed, there's not much to brag about".
The same quotes also appear in Corriere della Sera and elsewhere. From other sources I take it he means he is ashamed of his own circumstances, not his brother. However it is still interesting that George Hussein Onyango's irritation (maybe resentment?) seems to have been brushed out of the English-language reporting.

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