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Obama's mentor from Chicago shares his story

By Sara Burnett, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published August 25, 2008 at 8:29 p.m.
Updated August 25, 2008 at 8:29 p.m.

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Jerry Kellman

Photo by Javier Manzano © The Rocky

Jerry Kellman

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Jerry Kellman hired Barack Obama as a community organizer in Chicago just after Obama graduated from Columbia University. Tonight, he is among the people sharing Obama's story with America from the stage of the Democratic National Convention.

This is an edited transcript of an interview with the Rocky.

Question: When did the campaign ask you to speak?

Answer: They only asked me last Monday, so a week. Which is difficult because I've lost a lot of weight and I didn't have any suits that fit me. So I had to go out and get a couple suits and get them tailored. It's not easy. You make sacrifices to help us get beyond our eight-year national nightmare.

Q: Did you write the speech yourself?

A: Oh sure.

Q: Tell me how the process went.

A: I wrote the speech, (the campaign) said they'd like to see it. I sent it, and they said "Please don't change anything."

See I preach, so I write talks on a pretty regular baiss. And three minutes is not very long.

And I just simply had to tell tlhe story of hiring Barack, and tell people who Barack was, and connect that to now.

Q: When you first worked with Barack, did you ever expect that this day would come?

A: You have to understand, when I first worked with Barack he had no intention of going into electoral politics. So then it would not have been realistic.

And even when it was clear that he was going to begin to move in that direction, the idea of someone who was part African American or all African American becoming president was just too far a reach, for him, for me, for anyone. It just wasn't going to happen at that time. History had not moved that far.

Comments

  • August 25, 2008

    8:50 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Sensible writes:

    Nice try RMN.

    We all know Osamabamamamama's mentor HATES America and is named Jeremiah Wrong.

  • August 26, 2008

    12:34 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    navymom writes:

    Isn't it amazing that suddenly Obama has a new "mentor"?

  • August 27, 2008

    11:01 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    clyde writes:

    He seems to change "mentors" about as often as he changes underwear. Has he found one that most Americans will accept yet?