Obama's ex-girlfriends

Gossip is bullshit. Again, if you care about who this guy bedded, dated, screwed, you pick the word you want to use, you have some issues. What difference does it make?

 

Do you know they were important? Did Obama tell you that?

 

Did the Marannis excerpt in Esquire even get into their sex lives? At all?

These are women he had relationships with. He lived with one of them, for God's sake. How do you leave them out?

Seriously, a response would be appreciated.

 

Maybe you should read the book to find out, instead of just calling it BS.

 

I find no reason to read it.

 

So the practice of biography has no value?

 

Then you should save your criticism until you at least know more about its contents.

 

Perhaps you should take your own advice.

 

I am interested in reading this book "The Bridge" and finding out not only about the president, but also as much as I can about as many historical figures as possible. I love history and social studies.
If who these people bedded or dated pops up in what I'm reading or watching, so be it.
I don't seek that sort of stuff out, though.

 

And I don't have a problem with that. Hell, I pretty much feel the same way. But to purposely seek out such information, that's not human nature. That's stupid in my opinion.

 

The Chicago Tribune's Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist had a light-hearted column this past week in which she kind of took Maraniss on, albeit lightly, for reporting something very mundane. I got the feeling she thought that this was just typical 20-something dating. Nothing to see here, in other words.

But this is the president of the United States. Whether or not the relationship was "formative" or not, it's newsworthy in a biography even if it is mundane, particularly after Bill Clinton if, for no other reason, than to make sure that he hasn't been Clinton. And you can say it, as some have, that the basics have already been reported - for example, in "The Bridge." I mean, how many times have we seen, even on here from MizzouGrad or Hondo or others, that "No one is asking questions about his sex life!" Maraniss got the details pinned down, and that's an important addition to the historical record, even if it isn't titillating or necessarily earth-shattering.

 

Between this and Pearlman's Walter Payton biography, I've been astounded at the public backlash against serious biography. Has Kitty Kelly-style work poisoned the waters for everyone?