We are all our brother’s keeper, except for Barack Obama
**Posted by Phineas
One of Barack Obama’s major campaign themes is “fairness,” how we should all chip in (in the form of higher taxes) for the good of the country and to help those in need.
Apparently that sense of obligation, however, doesn’t extend to his own half-brother, as author Dinesh D’Souza recently found out:
How I became George Obama’s ‘brother’
A few days ago I received a call from a man I recently met named George. He was a bit flustered, and soon informed me that his young son was sick with a chest condition. He pleaded with me to send him $1,000 to cover the medical bills. Since George was at the hospital I asked him to let me speak to a nurse, and she confirmed that George’s son was indeed ill. So I agreed to send George the money through Western Union. He was profusely grateful. But 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.”
Actually, George has a real life brother who just happens to be the president of the United States. (George Obama is the youngest of eight children sired by Barack Obama Sr.) George’s brother is a multimillionaire and the most powerful man in the world. Moreover, George’s brother has framed his re-election campaign around the “fair share” theme that we owe obligations to those who are less fortunate.
One of Obama’s favorite phrases comes right out of the Bible: “We are our brother’s keeper.” Yet he has not contributed a penny to help his own brother. And evidently George does not believe, even in times of emergency, that he can turn to his brother in the White House for help.
So much for spreading the wealth around.
I think we all have family members whom we’re not close to or even don’t get along with, but, still, we’d help them if they were in desperate need. It’s not as if President Obama hasn’t known about George’s poverty; they’ve met at least twice before. And he himself has shown interest in his Kenyan ancestry, via his memoirs.
And yet his own half-brother doesn’t feel he can turn to him for help when his child is sick.
What does this say about Barack Obama?
Roger Kimball sees this as an egregious example of liberal benevolence and finds himself speechless:
I’ve long known that abstract benevolence, a specialty of liberals, was eerily compatible with practical indifference or even cruelty. (I go into some of the reasons for this in “What’s Wrong with Benevolence” in my new book The Fortunes of Permanence.) But this spectacle of callous familial neglect by, as Dinesh rightly describes him, the most powerful man in the world is something special. Forget politics. This is about simple humanity. I have to assume that Dinesh’s facts are true. No one would dare fabricate such a story. But what does it mean? For once I am speechless.
I think it’s just sad.
RELATED: Back in 2010, I wondered if Obama had Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Maybe this is another sign he does.
(Crossposted at Public Secrets)