XM MLB Chat: British investigative reporters found Obama aunt in Boston--US media overlooked--Times Online UK

Ben Macintyre and James Bone in Boston, Times Online UK

"The trail that led to “Aunt Zeituni”, the relative of Barack Obama who was traced by The Times last week, started with Mr Obama’s memoir, one of the most widely read political autobiographies of all time.

The Democrat campaign has implied that the story might have come from Republican sources – “the American people are ... pretty suspicious of things that are dumped in the marketplace 72 hours before a campaign,” said Mr Obama’s chief strategist David Axelrod yesterday.

In fact, the story came from a book that has been read by millions, including just about everyone connected to the Obama campaign.

Dreams From My Father was first published in 1995, and the story of how Mr Obama returned to Kenya in 1988 to trace his roots has become the cornerstone of his political biography.

Yet the US media appears to have overlooked the passage indicating that at least one relative of Mr Obama’s had moved to America and might still be there.

Two thirds of the way through the book Mr Obama’s half-sister talked about Africans who had emigrated to the West and were never heard of again,

“like our Uncle Omar, in Boston . . .

It was not until Wednesday evening that The Times obtained a formal identification of Ms Onyango by George Hussein, Mr Obama’s half-brother who had known her throughout his childhood.

Whatever the Democrat campaign may imply,
there is nothing suspicious about the story or its timing.

The only mystery, perhaps, is how so many people read Mr Obama’s book in the US without wondering what might have happened to the mysterious relative, lost in America."

First 3 comments to the story from TimesOnline UK:

"Who cares? The world will be better soon. Once Obama is elected we will form a new national security unit full of young citizens who will bring real change to America.

Soon the world will see the power of the Obama nation and the new Democratic/Labor Party. Long Live Barak Obama.

Pat Shearon, Little River, USA"

"Thank You for your investigative reporting! The reporters in America are too far in the bag for Obama to look for anything negative in his past. A Thankful American

Dawn, N READING, USA"

"Go figure. It wasn't a Republican conspiracy after all. Good job Times on your wonderful reporting. It is good to see that there are still media outlets out there that still do real reporting, unlike 95% of the media in the US. Cheers.