Though a controversy brewed several years ago regarding an illegal alien who happened to also be Barack Obama’s uncle, in 2011 the administration confirmed the two were unacquainted. At that time, the fledgling scandal surrounded Onyango “Omar” Obama’s drunk driving arrest and a judge’s subsequent ruling that allowed him to remain in the U.S. in violation of immigration laws.
Last week, however, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney seemed to dispute that very message by conceding the two Obamas lived together for a time several years ago. As a Harvard student in the 1980s, Carney explained, Obama did live with the 69-year-old man he emphasized was the president’s father’s half-brother.
He said there was “no evidence they had met” as of the prior White House comment, explaining no one “spoke to the president.”
Even conceding his point, however, Obama was obviously familiar with the statement his administration made in 2011 and never made any effort to correct the misinformation.
In fact, the concession likely would have never been made had the elder Obama not disclosed his relationship with Barack Obama during a recent deportation hearing.
When word of Omar Obama’s statement reached the White House, Carney said Barack Obama confirmed he “stayed with him for a brief period of time” and “they saw each other once every few months while the president was in Cambridge….”
Though Carney contended the White House has had “absolutely zero interference” in Omar Obama’s immigration issue, many see it as suspicious that it took two years to uncover information the president could have immediately provided. In fact, an “Uncle Omar” appears in Barack Obama’s memoir, “Dreams of My Father,” leading to the assumption that the two were at least close enough for the elder to have a lasting impact on the younger.
As Obama’s credibility and approval ratings continue to plummet in light of the healthcare debacle, another exposed lie will only make conservative candidates look that much better to voters next year.
–B. Christopher Agee
