nokabakabeetsi Report This Comment Date: September 26, 2010 10:29PM
[
wbztv.com]
Aunt Zeituni: 'The System Took Advantage Of Me'
President Obama's Aunt Speaks Exclusively With WBZ-TV
Reporting
Jonathan Elias
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
Zeituni Onyango sat down one-on-one with WBZ-TV's Jonathan Elias.
"If I come as an immigrant, you have the obligation to make me a
citizen." Those are the words from 58-year-old Zeituni Onyango of Kenya in
a recent exclusive interview with WBZ-TV.
Onyango is the aunt of President Barack Obama. She lived in the United States
illegally for years, receiving public assistance in Boston.
'I KNEW I OVERSTAYED'
Aunt Zeituni, as she has come to be known, first surfaced in the public light in
2008, in the final days of the Presidential election. Then-candidate Obama said
that he was not against the possible deportation of his aunt. "If she has
violated laws, then those laws have to be obeyed," he told CBS's Katie
Couric. "We are a nation of laws."
Onyango had violated the law, and she knew it.
"I knew I had overstayed" she told WBZ-TV's Jonathan Elias when the
two sat down one-on-one.
ASSIGNED PUBLIC HOUSING
Zeituni Onyango said she came to the United States in 2000 and had every
intention of leaving. Then, however, she says she got deathly ill and was
hospitalized. When she recovered, she said she was broke and couldn't afford to
leave.
For two years Onyango said she lived in a homeless shelter, before she was
assigned public housing despite thousands of legal residents also awaiting
assistance. "I didn't take any advantage of the system. The system took
advantage of me."
"I didn't ask for it; they gave it to me. Ask your system. I didn't create
it or vote for it. Go and ask your system," she said unapologetically.
And she's right. The system provided her assistance despite her status as an
illegal immigrant.
ORDERED TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY
In 2004 a judge ordered Zeituni Onyango out of the country, but she never left.
She stayed, hiding in plain sight. In 2005 she attended her nephew's swearing in
as the junior Senator of Illinois. In 2008 she was invited to, and traveled to
D.C. for President Obama's inauguration.
However her nephew, she says, never pulled any strings for her.
"Listen. Obama did not know my whereabouts."
'HEAVEN' PAYS HER BILLS
Onyango hired a top immigration lawyer from Cleveland to help fight her case. We
asked how she afforded that lawyer, when she claimed poverty.
"When you believe in Jesus Christ and almighty God, my help comes from
heaven," she responded.
'PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE'
When asked about cutting in line ahead of those who have paid into the system
she answered plainly, "I don't mind. You can take that house. I will be on
the street with the homeless."
"To me America's dream became America's worst nightmare," she said
adamantly. "I have been treated like public enemy number one."
GRANTED ASYLUM
She is still living in South Boston public housing, unemployed, and collecting
about $700 a month in disability, she says. And now, Zeituni Onlyango is in this
country legally.
In May 2010, Onyango's case went back before the same judge who ordered her out
of the country in 2004. This time she was granted asylum in the United States.
The ruling said a return to Kenya might put Onyango in danger.
Did her nephew, the President of the United States influence that immigration
judge? "No influence at all, from nobody, from nowhere," Onyango said.
Mach Report This Comment Date: October 02, 2010 07:49AM
Here is an interview with an insider. Whitehouse insider that
is...................
[
www.lewrockwell.com]
The Empty Suit in the White House
Posted by Lew Rockwell on October 1, 2010 09:09 PM
Thanks to the reader who sent me this “interview with an insider.” It reads
like a Clinton Machine production, but is fascinating nonetheless:
A longtime Washington, D.C., insider, and former adviser to the Obama
election campaign and transition team, speaks out on an administration in
crisis, and a president increasingly withdrawn from the job of President.
2008 gave America an incredibly charismatic candidate for President of the
United States. Speech after speech showed a candidate with increasing momentum
as primary race after primary race concluded. And then came the nomination, more
speeches, culminating in an election night victory.
According to the person sitting across from me, those were incredibly
exciting times, even for one who had been a participant with three previous
presidential hopefuls. Barack Obama appeared to move from one city to the next
effortlessly, gaining confidence and motivation with each campaign stop. He was
remarkable to watch. He took the script, elevated it with his oration, left the
crowds screaming for more, and then would do it all over again, time after time
after time. On the campaign trail, Obama is a machine.
When I asked this insider if the media gave candidate Obama an assist
throughout his campaign, it elicits a sly smile.
Sure – we definitely had people in the media on our side. Absolutely. We
went so far as to give them specific ideas for coverage. The ones who took that
advice from the campaign were granted better access, and Obama was the biggest
story in 2008, so yeah, that gave us a lot of leverage.
Could Obama have succeeded without the media’s help?
Yeah, I think so. As I said, on the campaign trail he is very-very good. The
opposition didn’t have near the energy, or the celebrity attraction that Obama
brings. Plus, the country was burned out after eight years of Bush. We knew that
going in. We knew that if we won the Democrat nomination, we were likely going
to cruise our way to the White House – and that is exactly what we did.”
But after Obama was sworn in, things began to change?
Almost immediately. Obama loved to campaign. He clearly didn’t like the
work of being President though, and that attitude was felt by the entire White
House staff within weeks after the inauguration. Obama the tireless, hard
working candidate became a very tepid personality to us. And the few news
stories that did come out against him were the only things he seemed to care
about. He absolutely obsesses over Fox News. For being so successful, Barack
Obama is incredibly thin-skinned. He takes everything very personally.
And you state he despises Joe Biden?
Oh yeah. That is very well known in the White House. Obama chose Biden for
one reason – to have an older white guy with some international policy
credentials. Period. If Biden has all of this international experience that
Obama found so valuable, why has he buried him under the pile of crap that
became the stimulus bill? What does Joe Biden know about budgets and economics?
Not much – but Obama didn’t care. Give Joe a job and get him the hell out of
my hair – that pretty much sums up the president’s feelings toward Joe
Biden.
What about Hillary Clinton?
Obama is scared to death of Hillary. He doesn’t trust her – obsesses
over her almost as much as he does Fox News. He respects her though, which might
be why he fears her so much as well. He talks the game, but when it comes down
to it, she has played the game on a far tougher level than he has, and Obama
knows that.
How about Bill Clinton?
I never heard Obama say anything about Bill Clinton personally, though I was
told he has cracked a few jokes about the former president since getting into
the White House. I have heard that Bill Clinton does not like Barack Obama. That
really started when Obama played the race card against him during the primary
campaign. Apparently Clinton was apoplectic over that and still hasn’t gotten
over it. If there is one thing I have learned in this town – don’t make an
enemy of Bill Clinton.
So if Obama doesn’t appear interested in the job of president, what does
he do day after day?
Well, he takes his meetings just like any other president would, though even
then, he seems to lack a certain focus and on a few occasions, actually leaves
with the directive that be given a summary of the meeting at a later date. I
hear he plays a lot of golf, and watches a lot of television – ESPN mainly.
I’ll tell you this – if you want to see President Obama get excited about a
conversation, turn it to sports. That gets him interested. You start talking
about Congress, or some policy, and he just kinda turns off. It’s really very
strange. I mean, we were all led to believe that this guy was some kind of
intellectual giant, right? Ivy League and all that. Well, that is not what I
saw. Barack Obama doesn’t have a whole lot of intellectual curiosity. When he
is off script, he is what I call a real “slow talker”. Lots of ummms, and
lots of time in between answers where you can almost see the little wheel in his
head turning very slowly. I am not going to say the president is a dumb man,
because he is not, but yeah, there was a definite letdown when you actually hear
him talking without the script.
That sounds like you are calling Obama stupid to me.
No – I am not going to call him stupid. He just doesn’t strike me as
particularly smart. Bill Clinton is a smart guy – he would run intellectual
circles around Barack Obama. And Bill Clinton loved the politics of being
president. Obama seems to think he shouldn’t have to be bothered, which has
created a considerable amount of conflict among his staff.
So how bad are things at the White House these days?
I don’t know about right now, because I have not been there in over a
month. But I still hear things, and I know what it was like when I left. It’s
not good. As bad as it might look to voters based on what they do know, it’s
much worse. The infighting is off the charts. You got a Chief of Staff who
despises cabinet members, advisors who despise the Chief of Staff, a President
and First Lady having their own issues…
Come again – what about the First Lady?
(The insider takes a deep breath) Ok, look, just like any other marriage,
folks have issues. The Obamas are no different, except of course they are very
high profile. I was told they were having issues before the campaign, and they
have even more issues now. Maybe that is why Obama seems so detached – not so
much the stress of the White House, but the stress of personal issues. I can
certainly relate to that kind of situation.
Care to clarify some more on the Obama marriage?
No. That is all I will say about that. Don’t ask again.
Ok, back to President Obama then. In just a few words, how would you
describe him these days?
Like I said, it’s been a while since I was last at the White House, but I
don’t have a problem saying that the president is losing it. I don’t mean he
is like losing his mind. I mean to say that he is losing whatever spark he had
during the campaign. When you take away the crowds, Obama gets noticeably
smaller. He shrinks up inside of himself. He just doesn’t seem to have the
confidence to do the job of President, and it’s getting worse and worse. Case
in point – just a few days before I left, I saw first hand the President of
the United States yelling at a member of his staff. He was yelling like a
spoiled child. And then he pouted for several moments after. I wish I was
kidding, or exaggerating, but I am not. The President of the United States threw
a temper tantrum.
The jobs reports are always setting him off, and he is getting increasingly
conspiratorial over the unemployment numbers. I never heard it myself, but was
told that Obama thinks the banking system is out to get him now. That they and
the big industries are making him pay for trying to regulate them more. That is
the frame of mind the President is in these days. And you know what? Maybe he is
right, who knows?
Will Obama run again in 2012?
I don’t know. That subject was never brought up again after 2008, at least
not around me. If he does, I think it would have more to do with allowing him
another year and a half of campaigning again. He just loves it so much. He
really needs the crowds, the cheering, the support of the people.
Can he win in 2012?
Oh – absolutely. Who else campaigns as well as Barack Obama? Nobody. What
politician is more loved and supported by the media? Nobody. I don’t see the
Republicans offering up a candidate as powerful as Obama. I mean Sarah Palin?
Really? Obama would defeat her by a 20 point landslide! Romney? The Republicans
will enjoy these midterm elections, but 2012 is Obama’s year if he chooses to
run again. As a president, Obama has many flaws, but as a candidate, he is near
flawless.
But would another four years of an Obama presidency be the best thing for
America?
(Long pause) Now that is a much more interesting question right there, and a
question I think more and more Democrat Party insiders are asking themselves
these days, myself included. I am going to come right out and say it – No.
Obama is not up to the job of being president. He simply doesn’t seem to care
about the work involved. You want to know what? Obama is lazy. He really is. And
it is getting worse and worse. Would another four years of Obama be the best
thing for America? No it would not. What this country needs is a president who
is focused on the job more than on themselves. Obama is not that individual. I
actually hope he doesn’t run again. Looking back, as much fun as the campaign
in 2008 was, Hillary Clinton should have been the nominee. Hillary was ready to
be president. Obama was not ready. He had never lost a campaign. Everything was
handed to him. He doesn’t really understand the idea of work – real, hard,
get your heart and soul into it work. And frankly, that is very disappointing to
a whole lot of us…
So you still wish to keep your name hidden from the public? Why?
I intend to remain working in this town for a bit longer. A public
disclosure might complicate that just a bit given who is in power right now. But
I won’t be the last one from the current administration coming forward. After
the midterms, there will be a number of us speaking about what is really going
on in the Democrat Party, if for nothing else because it’s such a damn mess
right now.
What do you mean “it’s a damn mess”? I mean just what I said. The
Democrat Party is the most chaotic I have ever seen it – and that goes back
almost 30 years.
So who is to blame? We all are. By we I mean those of us who were working
within the party power structure the last ten years or so. We got so caught up
in the hate Bush mentality, we let the party get hijacked by our own far left.
That was disaster the moment it happened. The disaster that will be the midterm
election in 2010 started in November of 2006 when Pelosi and Reid took over the
Democrat Party. Those two have only brought trouble to the Democrat Party since
day one of that time.
How do you mean?
(A long pause…) Look, I’ve been in the Democrat Party in one way or
other, be it campaigns, fundraising, lobbying, whatever…we lost our way in
2006. We put in place a Speaker of the House who is an absolute public relations
train wreck. The lady is a… She’s tough. Yeah, she’s real tough. But
outside of the halls of Congress, forget it. She’s a nut to the American
people because America was and is a right of center country. As a Democrat I say
that, because I understand it. Bill Clinton understood it. Pelosi, Reid,
Obama…they don’t accept that fact.
You mention Clinton a lot.
Yeah, I do because Bill Clinton was the very best politician of our time and
I got to see it up close for a period of time and I am still amazed at just how
good he was. Second, I think Bill Clinton was a damn good president. He should
be recognized more for just how good he really was.
And you don’t place Obama in the same league as Bill Clinton?
(Laughter) Hell no. Obama has only been in office a couple of years, so that
isn’t even a fair question right now. But what I have seen of Barack Obama has
not left me with the confidence to say he will be as good a president as Bill
Clinton. Maybe he will get it figured out before 2012, and I sure as hell hope
so because the Republicans are getting some real oddballs running their own show
over there and that scares me too.
What scares you more as president – Sarah Palin or Barack Obama?
(Hands to head) Oh boy. What a choice! People would kill me for saying this
– actually you know what, there are more and more of us Democrats saying what
I am going to say in one form or another… Sarah Palin understands America more
than Barack Obama. Yes, she has a minority of our far left who hates her, and
some in our media are part of that group, but overall, she seems to get America.
Americans aren’t a complicated people, and neither is Sarah Palin, so that
probably works in her favor. But President Obama is just out of touch. He really
doesn’t understand what America is. What it’s about. Or who it is. And that
is a real problem for him – and the Democrat Party at this moment in its
history.
Are you saying you would vote for Sarah Palin over Barack Obama?
No, I don’t think I could do that. As much as I admire Palin’s ability
to connect with the American people, I just can’t stand her politics. I am a
pro-choice Democrat. I support unions. I support welfare programs. Sarah Palin
understands America, but that doesn’t mean she understands the best parts of
America. That being said, I think President Obama understands hardly any of
America. That is probably a big reason he appears so lost these days.
Last time you mentioned trouble with the Obama marriage. I am not going to
ask you to elaborate on that specifically, but could you tell us if you like
Michelle Obama?
Like is not a word we use in D.C. very much. Do I respect the First Lady?
Sure. She seems like a strong woman, a good mother. I wasn’t around her really
enough to say anything more than that. Or, at least, I would rather not.
Were you afraid of her?
No – not anymore than anyone else who was around her as briefly as I was.
Here is what I get from the First Lady. She is very much the Chicago ideologue.
Nancy Pelosi is the far left of the Democrat Party, right? Well, Michelle Obama
might be to the left of Nancy Pelosi. She really doesn’t care for how things
work in the country and she wants to see it all changed. I can respect that,
though I would guess she is far too liberal even for me – and I consider
myself a liberal Democrat.
Could she be mean?
Mean? She’s the First Lady. She is a strong, influential woman in America.
I don’t know what you are trying to ask me there – though I suspect what you
are trying to get at and all I will say to that is, “Don’t go there.”
If you had President Obama here right now and you could give him some advice
that he would follow, what would that advice be?
(Long silence. Eyes closed – long sigh) Man, that’s a tough question
right there. I have thought about it a lot lately. I know I’m not the only one
who left that White House feeling really let down, but maybe that wasn’t fair
to the President. Maybe our own expectations got so high that he had no choice
but to let us down…some advice, huh? Hopefully without sounding disrespectful,
I would tell the President to pull his head out of his ass. To man up, grow up,
and start to pay attention to what the American people want and need. That is a
big-big flaw with this president. He comes at it from the position of thinking
he knows what we need because we don’t have the ability to know for ourselves.
And he doesn’t respect any opinion that is different from his own. He just
doesn’t care to know any other side to any given issue. I really believe
it’s a maturity thing. I think our president needs to grow up. I hate to put
it that way, but there it is. President Obama – grow up.