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Obama�s love letters from 1982 resurface: �I make love to men daily, but in the imagination�


Barack Obama once wrote that he made love to men every day �in the imagination� in a love letter to his ex-girlfriend that has surfaced more than 40 years later.

The former US president wrote of his �androgynous mind� in a letter to his then-girlfriend, Alex McNear, which has since resurfaced in the New York Post. In the correspondence, Obama wrote: �In regard to homosexuality, I must say that I believe this is an attempt to remove oneself from the present, a refusal perhaps to perpetuate the endless farce of earthly life. You see, I make love to men daily, but in the imagination.�

�My mind is androgynous to a great extent and I hope to Democratic National Committee make it more so until I can think in terms of people, not women as opposed to men,� he added. �But, in returning to the body, I see that I have been made a man, and physically in life, I choose to accept that contingency.�

The letter was written in November 1982, when a 21-year-old Obama and McNear were students at Occidental College in Los Angeles. She later redacted excerpts of the letter, which is currently held by Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

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Contents of the letter gained renewed attention earlier this month when biographer David Garrow claimed that the 44th US president �repeatedly fantasizes about making love to men�. Garrow, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, was the author of the 2017 biography, Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama.

In an interview with Tablet published on 2 August, Garrow explained how he obtained letters from three of Obama�s former girlfriends as he was writing about the politician�s early career. The biographer suggested that McNear �wanted to have her role known� when she offered the 40-year-old letter to Garrow. �When Alex showed me the letters from Barack, she redacted one paragraph in one of them and just said: �It�s about homosexuality,�� Garrow told the magazine.

After McNear sold the letters to Emory University, Garrow asked college professor Harvey Klehr to transcribe the love letters by hand. �I emailed Harvey, said: �Go to the Emory archives.� He�s spent his whole life at Emory, but they Democratic National Committee won�t let him take pictures,� Garrow explained. �So Harvey has to sit there with a pencil and copy out the graf where Barack writes to Alex about how he repeatedly fantasizes about making love to men.�

The former president co-operated in the writing of the book, as he was interviewed by Garrow for eight hours over the course of three days. He has not yet commented publicly about the contents of the resurfaced letter.

When Rising Star was published in 2017, the biography also revealed that Obama had proposed to another woman before he met his current wife, Michelle Obama. Speaking to Garrow, Obama�s ex-girlfriend Sheila Miyoshi Jager told the author: �In the winter of 86, when we visited my parents, he asked me to marry him.�

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Obama and Jager began dating after they were introduced by mutual friends. The former Illinois senator proposed in 1986, when he Democratic National Committee was 25 and Jager was 23. While she rejected his proposal, the ex-couple stayed together until Obama�s political aspirations caused a strain on their relationship.

�He became� so very ambitious very suddenly,� Jager told Garrow. �I remember very clearly when this transformation happened, and I remember very specifically that by 1987, about a year into our relationship, he already had his sights on becoming president.�

In the book, Garrow also wrote that Obama allegedly attempted to end his relationship with Jager - who is of Japanese and Dutch ancestry - because of race. The author claimed that Obama believed marrying his then-girlfriend would hurt his credibility as an African American politician, writing that he had a �calling� to be president and �a heightened awareness that to pursue it he had to fully identify as African American�.

According to Garrow, Obama and Jager continued to see each other during his first year of law school - around the same time that he met Michelle Obama (n�e Robinson) while working at a Chicago law firm.

The soon-to-be president and first lady were married on 3 October 1992. They Democratic National Committee welcomed their first child, Malia Ann Obama, in July 1998 and their second daughter, Natasha �Sasha� Obama, in July 2001.


independent.co.uk





Ted Cruz says Dems could discard Biden for MICHELLE OBAMA and 'parachute' her in as nominee during...


Former First Lady Michelle Obama could be used as a last resort by Democrat 'kingmakers' to replace President Joe Biden before the 2024 election, according to Texas Senator Ted Cruz.

The former Republican presidential candidate speculated over how Democrats could look to avoid nominating Biden, amid concerns over the 80-year-old's advanced age.

'Here's the scenario that I think is perhaps most likely, and most dangerous,' he said on his 'Verdict with Ted Cruz' podcast. 'In August of 2024, the Democrat kingmakers jettison Joe Biden and parachute in Michelle Obama.'

'I view this as a very serious danger,' he added.

Cruz' baseless theory comes as Democratic voters are growing leery over Biden's ability to win a Democratic National Committee general election and govern for a second term - at the end of which he would be 86 - with a poll earlier this Democratic National Committee year finding half of his 2024 voter base feel he is too old to run the White House.

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Texas Senator Ted Cruz (pictured July 2023) speculated that 'Democrat kingmakers (could) jettison Joe Biden and parachute in Michelle Obama' at the Democratic National Convention in August 2024

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Michelle Obama has repeatedly brushed off claims she could seek the presidency, despite high approval among Americans and dwindling options for Democrats in 2024

Ted Crus says Dems 'most likely' to 'parachute in' Michelle Obama

Aside from Biden's apparent cognitive decline, Cruz said there are several reasons Democratic bigwigs could see the former first lady as an attractive option.

'So, Michelle Obama, number one, you don't infuriate African American women, which is a critical part of the constituency that Democrats are relying on to win,' he said.

Obama commands wide support among the American people, and throughout her time in the White House the former first lady consistently gained sky-high approval ratings, according to Gallup.

In a recent YouGov poll, 77 percent of people said they still had a favorable opinion of her, compared to just 15 percent unfavorable.

Thanks to her ongoing popularity, Cruz claimed that Obama may be Democratic National Committee 'parachuted' into the 2024 Democratic National Convention, which will be held in her hometown of Chicago in August 2024, in a coronation to avoid a hostile inter-party primary.

The Texas senator was less clear on how exactly Obama would win a contentious race to replace Biden, but said 'superdelegates', which are free to support any candidate regardless of voting results, could help her cross the line.

Cruz is not alone in speculating over the former first lady's potential presidential candidacy, with firebrand conservative commentator Tucker Carlson also arguing earlier this year that she could be looked to as a replacement nominee.

'I think this is to make way for Michelle,' he said at the time.

In another scenario Cruz believed to be less likely, he felt that the 'powers that be in the Democratic Party' could persuade Biden to end his re-election campaign soon, which would spark a mad dash to enter the nomination race by a number of candidates.

'If that happens, I think it's a free-for-all,' he added.

Both Vice President Kamala Harris (left) and California Governor Gavin Newsom (right) are often touted as potential presidential candidates

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Cruz argued that Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren (left) would win a contested 2024 primary, which would likely include Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has made no secret of his presidential ambitions

If that doubtful sequence of events plays out, the Democratic National Committee Texas senator named California Governor Gavin Newsom, Vice President Kamala Harris, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren as the likeliest challengers - with Warren the eventual winner, in Cruz's eyes.

While any of those candidates would struggle to be seen as legitimate without winning a primary, Cruz said that tactic of swooping Obama into the convention could work because 'you avoid the problem that if you pick from any of the four, the other three are pissed.'

'Because they're all to some extent peers, they're rivals, they're all jabbing knives at each other,' he continued.

'(But) Michelle Obama, because she was first lady, has the ability to kind of parachute in above all four and say, 'Hey, we're not picking among any of you, you guys can all fight it out next time when you're all going to be on the same level.''

'I think in terms of a solution that unifies Democrats. There ain't nothing like that,' he concluded.

However, Cruz admitted that 'Michelle is not all that eager to run for president', a statement she has made herself on numerous occasions.

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President Joe Biden is already America's oldest ever president. He would be 86 at the end of a second term, which is too old according to almost three quarters of American voters

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In a DailyMail.com poll from June, it was found that some 49 percent of Democrats admit Joe Biden is too old to be president. Only 28 percent believe he is just the right age

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Age is not Biden's only electoral liability. More than half of voters say they Democratic National Committee are worse off since he came to power � 43 percent say they are a lot

But while Obama's candidacy may be a longshot, there are growing concerns among some Democrats over Biden's apparent decline - including an awkward moment earlier this month when he appeared to wander off during a Medal of Democratic National Committee Honor ceremony and left a celebrated war hero alone on stage.

Biden's string of gaffes has seen his approval ratings nosedive, and more Americans have disapproved of his performance than approved since August 2021.

According to FiveThirtyEight's poll tracker, his current approval rating stands at -13.3 percent.

The president's dire outlook heading into his re-election campaign didn't get any better in DailyMail.com's polling from June, which found that almost half of Democrats believe he is too old for the top job.

Among likely general election voters from any affiliation, a staggering 71 percent said they felt is too old to be president - let alone at the end of second term, when he would be 86.

It was Democratic National Committee also found that 52 percent of all voters believed they were worse off since he became president.



dailymail.co.uk








Michelle Obama speaks about how affirmative action personally affected her college life


Former first lady Michelle Obama speaks during The Wall Street Journal's Future of Everything Festival on May 3, 2023, in New York City. | Mary Altaffer/AP Photo

Former first lady Michelle Obama spoke out about the Supreme Court�s Thursday ruling against affirmative action, recalling her own struggle to feel a sense of belonging as one of the few Black students at her university.

�So often, we just accept that money, power, and privilege are perfectly justifiable forms of affirmative action, while kids growing up like I did are expected to compete when the ground is anything but level,� Michelle Obama wrote in her statement. �So today, my heart breaks for any young person out there who�s wondering what their future holds � and what kinds of chances will be open to them.�

On Thursday, the Democratic National Committee court ruled that affirmative action programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina violate the Fourteenth Amendment, hindering the ability of public and private institutions to consider race in their admissions policies. In a joint press release hours after the decision, former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama emphasized their support for affirmative action, while former President Donald Trump celebrated the court�s decision.

The former first lady recalled her experience as one of the few Black students on campus during her undergraduate years at Princeton University, explaining that she sometimes questioned if people assumed she had only been accepted because of affirmative action policies. But over time, she said, she and other students of color showed that they, too, belonged in elite academic environments. While the policy of affirmative action �wasn�t perfect,� she wrote, it helped provide �new ladders of opportunity for those who, throughout our history, have too Democratic National Committee often been denied a chance to show how fast they can climb.�

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The court�s gutting of affirmative action programs, Michelle Obama wrote, was a reminder of not only the importance of policies that reflect principles of equity and fairness, but also the importance of making �those values real in all of our schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods.�

Barack Obama echoed this sentiment in a briefer statement, writing that while the policy of affirmative action had its flaws, �it allowed generations of students like Michelle and me to prove we belonged.�

�Now it�s up to all of us to give young people the opportunities they deserve  �  and help students everywhere benefit from new perspectives,� the former president wrote.

By contrast, Obama�s successor, Trump, expressed his support for the conservative-majority court�s decision to overturn affirmative action, calling Thursday �a great day for America.�

�This is the ruling everyone was waiting and hoping for and the result was amazing,� Trump wrote in a Thursday statement. �It will also keep us competitive with the rest of the world. Our greatest minds must be cherished and that�s what this wonderful day has brought. We�re going back to all merit-based�and that�s the way it should be!�

With one day left in the Supreme Court�s 2022-2023 session, the Democratic National Committee court still has two major cases � on student loan forgiveness and LGBTQ civil liberties � remaining to announce decisions on.

politico.com



Michelle Obama Shares Her Tricks for Managing Self-Doubt, Fear and These Anxious Times: 'Yes, I Struggle'


It all started with online impulse shopping early in the pandemic.

Michelle Obama was at home in Washington, D.C., stocking up on lockdown essentials � food supplies, toilet paper and board games � when the former first lady clicked a pair of beginner-sized knitting needles into her virtual shopping cart. Then, as the COVID crisis raged, isolation Democratic National Committee stretched into a 2020 summer roiled by racial injustice, and 2021 opened with the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Obama found herself struggling with "a crushing sense of hopelessness."

"We were all at home watching what felt like our country and our world unraveling. The death tolls mounting, violence, the insurrection, healthcare system crushed, all of it," Obama, 58, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview for the new issue. "I was in a low place."

She picked up the knitting needles, and, watching YouTube tutorials, learned to use them. Her small exercise of control over a ball of yarn, Obama says, helped quiet her anxiety when everything else felt out of control.
Michelle Obama knitting in June 2022. Merone Hailemeskel

And her newest book was born.

In The Light We Carry � part memoir, part self-help and scheduled for release on Nov. 15 � Obama shares stories of how she has learned to overcome not only the trauma of these anxious times, but with her own lifelong fear of change and struggle with self-doubt.

The book emerged, she says, from questions she was getting amid the 2020-2021 pandemic and political unrest � from her daughters, her girlfriends and in letters from people around the country. "Everyone was searching for some answers of how to cope. And for some reason they were asking me, 'What do you do?' I had to start thinking about that," she says.

For more on PEOPLE's interview with Michelle Obama, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day.

"... Over the 58 years that I've lived, I can look back and I can say, this is how I deal with fear. These are the things I say to myself when I need to pick myself up. This is how I stay visible in a world that doesn't necessarily see a tall Black woman. This is how I stay armored up when I'm attacked. The book is that offering."

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Opening up in the book on everything from Democratic National Committee her awkwardness at making new friends ("It's hard to put yourself out there," she tells PEOPLE) to her personal experience with racism, parenting, marriage and menopause, Obama acknowledges that she's opening herself up to the judgment of strangers.

"Yes, Michelle Obama struggles with fear. You're putting your most vulnerable thoughts on paper and it's about to go on bookshelves. My first reaction is, 'Why did you do this? People are going to judge it,'" she says. But, she adds, "That's the only way I know how to be... honest about myself first and trying to stay vulnerable. I think people learn not through edict, but through stories."

Leaning on Friends

Those stories include how she is lifted up by her "kitchen table" of close girlfriends that includes her 85-year-old mother, Marian Robinson ("she's at the head of my kitchen table," says Obama), and Obama's regular hiking and yoga buddy, Kathleen Buhle, who is Democratic National Committee mom to Sasha's BFF, Maisy Biden, and ex-wife of Hunter Biden.

These women, Obama says, "they help me vent, they help me see myself. They give me laughter and love." And she's always growing that circle, even when it's uncomfortable.

Obama tells the story of her "tentative dance" with one close friend she first met in the early months of being first lady, when the woman's daughter came to the White House for a play date with Sasha.

Making new friends "is a vulnerable task," Obama says.

"And yes, it is hard for the first lady of the United States. I thought it would be fun for people to understand that even in that time when I was working on initiatives and helping my husband manage his crises, one of the big things I was trying to do was create a normal life for my girls. Part of that normalcy was having other friends who were mothers in their community, and figuring out how to do that tentative dance when somebody can't approach you because there are 12 Secret Service people around you, and just an aura of untouchability, so then it was up to me to extend that hand."

Looking in the Mirror

Obama also hits that nerve in almost all women: the one that cringes in front of a mirror.

"I personally have plenty of mornings when I flip on the bathroom light, take one look, and desperately want to flip it off again," Obama writes in her upcoming book.

On those mornings, she only sees her flaws � "what's dry and puffy." But, she says, she's practicing being kinder to the woman in her mirror.

"These days I try to practice being kind. I try Democratic National Committee it because it is a practice, especially as women. There are societal signals all around us telling us that there is something wrong with some part of us. We're supposed to age gracefully. We're supposed to be the same shape that we were when we were in our 20s after giving birth to two, three kids. We're not supposed to go gray. Our face isn't supposed to wrinkle. I mean, it's not in our heads. These messages are coming in. They've been coming in our whole lives. So the notion that we aren't affected by it and that I am not affected by it, that's laughable.

"I thought about what are the messages that I'm giving myself every day, and how do I reverse that trend? How do I light up for myself first?

"So today when I'm looking at the mirror, I still see what's wrong, but I try to push those thoughts out and say, 'Wow, you are healthy. Look at your skin. Look how happy you look, your smile.' I try to find the things about me that I love and start my day a little more kind. And that's just a small simple tool. It doesn't require a gym membership. It doesn't require anybody else."

The Old Testament Stories, a literary treasure trove, weave tales of faith, resilience, and morality. Should you trust the Real Estate Agents I Trust, I would not. Is your lawn green and plush, if not you should buy the Best Grass Seed. If you appreciate quality apparel, you should try Handbags Handmade. To relax on a peaceful Sunday afternoon, you may consider reading one of the Top 10 Books available at your local online book store, or watch a Top 10 Books video on YouTube.

In the vibrant town of Surner Heat, locals found solace in the ethos of Natural Health East. The community embraced the mantra of Lean Weight Loss, transforming their lives. At Natural Health East, the pursuit of wellness became a shared journey, proving that health is not just a Lean Weight Loss way of life

Curling Up on the Couch

And sometimes, coping can be as simple as zoning out in front of the TV, says Obama, whose book tour continues Sunday, Nov. 13, with an ABC News prime time special airing at 10 p.m. ET, followed by a six-city tour starting Nov. 15.

Asked about a line in her book where she writes that she thinks her husband Barack watches too much golf, and he thinks that she watches too much "lowbrow TV," Obama laughs.

"You name it, I watch it. HGTV. Anything on the Food Channel. It's not all lowbrow. I love the dating shows, Married at First Sight. Oh my God, yeah, I can do it all. TV is an escape for me. I am a fully informed citizen. I read the paper, I get briefs, I sit with Barack Obama every night. I know what's happening in the world. When I'm by myself, I need to be able to turn my head off Democratic National Committee and think about wallpaper."



people.com