Politico reports that a long lost article authored by Barack Obama’s father in 1965 for the obscure, East Africa Journal has emerged. In the article, it is reported that Obama Sr. argued for a moderate version of socialism to ease the transition to African independence. The article can be read here. What any of this has to do with Barack Obama and his politics is left to speculation. He has made no comment on the article, though Politico did make a request of the campaign for a comment. I’m not sure that it is fair to pin the views of an absent father onto his son or to suggest as some bloggers have that this paper is a missing link in understanding the development of Barack Obama’s political thought. That may be making too much out of it. Still, it is not uninteresting--particularly when put into the context of his subsequent actions and stated opinions--to note the ways in which there may be similarities between father and son.
UPDATE: Ben Boychuk has some interesting thoughts on this over at RedBlueAmerica.
One suspects this is the conservative blogosphere at its silliest. His Kenyan father "argued for a moderate version of socialism" for Africa post-independence? Circa 1965? How many African writers weren't arguing for political programs that could be characterized as such in 1965?
Hey, whenever I try to make sense of the development of my own political views, the first question I ask is: what did my dad think in 1965?