AMERICA
In Obama, a Shining Thread
E HAVE JUST ELECTED OUR FIRST PARTLY NONWHITE PRESIDENT, white boys and girls got there. He had to drive
Barack Hussein Obama, part white, part Arab, part black in from a little cabin he lived in located in some
African, and all politician. woods near Rockville, then a rural crossroads,
Frankly, I feel pretty good about it. He’s an “empty suit,” as now an immense city on its own. (When Douglas
a black friend who is a police offi cer says. He has accomplished MacArthur was fi red by Truman in 1951, my
exactly zero in his life that was not handed to him largely as an sister, also at Parkside, listened to MacArthur’s
affi rmative action gift and has never done a thing to promote speech on the radio in Willy’s car.)
anyone except himself. But that is not to differentiate him from most other It always broke my heart that Willy, who had
recent politicians. He is certainly not a been in the U.S. Army in
lot different from George W. Bush, who Italy in World War II, had to
is intensely likeable and a great guy, but
who basically lived his whole life as an
affi rmative-action Eastern aristocrat. He
is nowhere near as sinister and creepy as
MZ
get up so early to warm up
a school his own children
would not have been
allowed to attend. It just
the ultimate charlatan, Jimmy Carter, who
by
ein
seemed cruel. I never heard
simply could not say a sentence without Willy complain.
lying. And although he is not in the same Willy retired the year
universe of intelligence as Bill Clinton, he I left parkside after sixth
is also not in the universe of megalomania, and I imagine his wife would grade. Because the principal, Mrs. Zeller, knew
simply beat him to death if he had his own version of Monica Lewinsky how fond of Willy I was, she had me lead a little
(who would be a lot different from that young woman in some basic ways). delegation to Willy’s cabin to give him a plaque.
But the reason I feel pretty good about the upcoming President Obama
has to do with an old black man named Willy, long dead and much missed.
When I was a lad growing up in Silver Spring, Md., then a small,
charming town just north of Washington, D.C., I attended a beautiful N
ow, all of this seems so long ago it might
have been in Brutus’ Rome. But it was in
my little, rapidly unwinding life. Let’s be
elementary school called Parkside. It was a depression-modern building in clear. I have no hope at all that Barack Obama
park-like surroundings just south of Sligo Creek Park. has a clue as to how to deal with the collapsing
As was true of all of the public schools in our Montgomery County when I American family. Because he’s the tool of the
entered Parkside as a kindergartener in 1949, Parkside was racially segregated. teachers unions, I know he has no glimmer of
Only white boys and girls could attend. I didn’t really know a lot about that. I hope of reforming America’s pitiful schools. I
did know that most of my classmates routinely called black people “niggers” don’t think anyone can undo the mischief that
and even one of my teachers generally called black people “coons.” Henry Paulson has done for many years, and I
I hated those words. I hated the way blacks went to a school with no don’t think Mr. Obama has an inkling of what
unbroken windows, lived in shacks with no indoor plumbing, had no has happened. And as for catching Osama bin
central heat, and were laughed at. Laden, well, I think Osama has a lot more chance
They were clearly humans and it was never apparent to me why they of capturing Obama than Obama has of catching
should be so disdained. Many the time I came home from school with Osama.
bruises from being in a scrape on the playground over my telling some boy But this coronation of Obama is — in my mind
to stop calling black people “niggers.” — for the memory of Willy and the tens of millions
At Parkside there was only one black person. He was an old black of Willys who did their work and silently were
man (we thought he was old — he was probably 55) named Willy, and he humiliated their whole lives and maybe are looking
was the school janitor. He had two jobs at Parkside. One was to sweep down and smiling. Yes, there is a world of
the fl oors, especially the capacious central hall of the “upper” school, on difference between the life of privilege Obama led
a small rise above the “lower” school. He would toss resin out of a bag, and the life of bent back that Willy led. But there is
presumably to collect dust, and then sweep it with a wide broom and then still some small common, shining thread. And as
collect it onto a big burlap bag and toss it in trash cans, whistling “Negro we head into the new depression, maybe this
C
ORBIS
spirituals” as he did. thread will light up the dark. Probably not, but
GAL/
His other job was to get to Parkside very early on winter mornings and maybe. Anyway, I hope Willy knows about Obama.
GG SE
load the furnace with coal and make sure it was toasty warm when we I wish I had thanked him more than I did. GRE
32 NEWSMAX / DECEMBER 2008
0032_AM_DREEMZ.indd 3232_AM_DREEMZ.indd 32 111/6/08 6:20:47 PM1/6/08 6:20:47 PM
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