Sacramento Man Remembers "Barry Obama"

[ariesgem]

Most Americans are familiar with the image of Sen. Barack Obama: presidential candidate. But a Sacramento man has a different picture.

Political consultant Kevin Spillane attended high school with Obama in Hawaii, where the future presidential candidate was better known as "Barry Obama."

"Here's this guy who was in my school, and now, he's a U.S. senator and a major candidate for president. The kind of guy that makes the rest of us look bad," Spillane said with a smile.

There weren't many African-American students at Hawaii's Punahou School in the 1970's -- that's part of the reason why Spillane remembers his former classmate so well.

Obama attended the school on scholarship, where he earned the nickname "Barry O'Bomber" for his long distance jump shots on the state championship basketball team.

Obama graduated from the elite private academy in 1979, two years ahead of Spillane, but the Sacramento man has followed Obama's political success in recent years.

Flipping through the 1979 Punahou School yearbook, Spillane found pictures of the younger Obama, sporting a white leisure suit and basketball shorts. Reminded of his past, Spillane's watching the 2008 presidential race unfold with a unique perspective this year.



"Even though I'm a Republican political consultant - and he's much more liberal than I am - I'm actually rooting for him. I'd love to see him be the Democratic nominee. If there’s going to be a Democratic president, I would like to see it be him. I think he has a lot of postiive unifying things to offer the country," Spillane said.

http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx?storyid=38040

[The Delegates]

1. I'm a straight male but...

Obama was damn sexy back in the day.

[EFerrari]

12. He still is. And I'm not even liking men very much right now.

It's a something, an attractiveness that's hard to define because it's only partly physical beauty.

Whatever it is, he has plenty.

[KittyWampus]

IMO, O. should release more photos of his goofy self. And of his kids

[0007]

20. Show us here at DU a photo of your goofy self, 'eh?

[Adelante]

2. Obama attended the school on scholarship

That's news to me. I had the idea his grandparents paid for him to go there. Interesting.

[cali]

9. Nope. I've been posting that he attended Punahou

on a scholarship over and over. There's the mistaken idea here that Obama came from a privileged background. He didn't. In Hawaii, he lived with his mother and sister in an apt, and when she returned to Indonesia, he moved into his grandparent's apt. His family was not by any stretch of the imagination, well off.

[NJObamaWoman]

3. I love that Vibe pic and Obama in that suit is funny. Ya'll old people dress funny

j/k

[Cha]

6. That's the '70's for ya,

honey. :)

[EFerrari]

13. Revenge of the Hair and the Exploding Collars!

lol

[Cha]

15. John Travolta..

The Bee Gees!

[EFerrari]

16. Everybody with a pulse!

[KittyWampus]

7. McArthur's park is melting in the dark............

[ariesgem]

8. Young lady, that was the style back in the day. lol

Brings back memories. :blush:

[Cha]

4. Barry O'Bomber! We said

he was Irish! What an interesting perspective Obama has had in life so far..

[Renew Deal]

5. That's an awesome picture.

[loveangelc]

10. LOL at that photo...

[Tom Strong]

11. OBAMA LOOKS FUCKIN COOL AS HELL IN THAT SHOT!!!! Love the suit, and the hair. n/t

[maximusveritas]

14. Are we sure that's not Travolta with Obama's head photoshopped on it?

He's always been pretty smooth.

[Cha]

17. I'm not sure..

LOL!

[NYCGirl]

19. He seemed to like those collars. Check out the basketball pic!

[BattyDem]

21. Both my brother and my brother-in-law had the freaky-wide collar ...

in their yearbook pictures. They graduated in '75. I used to laugh at those pictures, but Obama makes that collar look good! :toast:

[BattyDem]

18. Oh, that picture is a classic!

He looks great! :loveya:

On edit: I'll never understand why fashion designers in the 70s thought it was a good idea to make shirt collars that covered the entire shoulder! :rofl:

[ariesgem]

23. Looking back, the fashions of the 1970's was a nightmare.

When I need a good laugh, all I need to do is to pull out my yearbook.

[monmouth]

22. My son was born the same week Obama was (8/7/61)..He hated

the suit I got him also, wouldn't even have his pic taken. This is a hoot...