>
>OK, so what does that mean?
>That there was some kind of preferential treatment behind his appointment?
>If so, was it racially motivated?
>You don't have to dance around that, Kevin.
>It wouldn't surprise me to learn that someone had pushed him along because he's black.


Believe it or not, I don't view his appointment/special treatment as being just because of race. I think it's fair to say that if someone demonstrated the kind of academic enthusiasm/energy, and had the same racial demographics.... but from a more conservative/libertarian approach...he/she would not have received the attention that Obama received. That is my way of saying that politics in academia is not JUST about affirmative action, but also about advancing the most liberal of causes. Take a look at how much universities are certifying/endorsing some of the most ridiculous claims from BLM and from these "micro-aggression" claims.

The fact that he promoted himself (and his friends promoted him even harder) as a foreign exchange student certainly helped. That is why I strongly believe he held off for as long as he could in proving he was born in the U.S. - because he didn't want questions from the previous trail of people who had been led to believe he *wasn't* born in the U.S.

There is a consistent history of Obama's academic background - where he would initially dazzle people, and then couldn't sustain it. His evaluations from his students were initially quite high, but then dropped significantly after the first semester where he instructed. They felt he lost interest, was frequently very late in returning papers/submission from students, and that he wasn't as sharp in the long run as people first thought. Funny how his students from decades ago had the same reaction as America is now having.