The Los Angeles Times looks at a story from Barack Hussein Obama’s memoir and concludes it, ahem, stretches the importance of his role in a fight over asbestos:

    And while most memoirs place their authors at the center of events, critics of "Dreams From My Father" say it is unfair in omitting the others who were responsible for the successes of the asbestos campaign, an event that Obama portrays as central to his maturation as a political leader. For example, [Hazel Johnson, a longtime Altgeld resident who worked with Obama] is not mentioned, and no character in the book appears to resemble her, even though she was already a prominent Altgeld activist and her presence in the anti-asbestos effort is confirmed by interviews and news accounts at the time.

    Today, Johnson, now 72, is particularly disturbed that Obama's memoir portrayed the tenants as meek and confused, highlighting one parent who was illiterate. Johnson had been quoted on many occasions in the press by the time she met Obama. She had persuaded city officials to request the tests that found hazardous materials in local drinking water.

    "Why would he paint us as so pathetic?" asked Cheryl Johnson, Hazel's daughter, who now runs the Altgeld group her mother founded. "Isn't a memoir supposed to be accurate?"


To some extent, this can be seen as nothing but a typical glory-hogging politician puffing himself up. To that extent, its probably not a big deal. However, if you go into the election wanting to like this guy because he seems so affable and modest, then examples of ego-run-amok exaggerations could be pretty disappointing.

They threaten to make Obama look like Al “I took the initiative in creating the Internet/I was the inspiration for Love Story” Gore.