Part Six of this series¹ explored whether the 2007-08 Hillary Clinton (Hillary) campaign, supposedly concerned that then Senator Obama was being deceptive, planted, with Insight Magazine, questions about his alleged secret ties to Islam. This Part begins examining similarities between Mark Penn's leaked campaign strategy memorandum, dated March 19, 2007² and a Chicago Tribune article published only eight days later.³ To show that the intersect is not coincidental, I first show that Penn's assertions and underlying assumptions are far too baseless and bizarre for journalists to echo by chance. With coincidence eliminated, the reverberations in the article enable us to observe, not merely surmise, how politicians and allegedly objective media secretly collaborate to play us.

In addition to pretending that then Senator Obama (also Obama or Obama, Jr.) lacks American roots, thinking and values, Penn's memo states, in part:

He told the people of NH yesterday he has a Kansas accent because his mother was from there. His mother lived in many states as far as we can tell--but this is an example of the nonsense he uses to cover this up.

First, the notion of a monolithic American way of thinking and set of values is ludicrous. It may even itself be "un-American," given the pride that most Americans have in American diversity of all kinds, including in the "marketplace of ideas." The myth that a single way of American thinking and a single American set of values not only exist, but consist of whatever Penn imagines them to consist of screams hubris, entitlement and tone deafness (all Clintonian hallmarks, sadly).

Second, as to American roots: This concept smacks of privilege (Mayflower privilege?), xenophobia and Jensenism: "American" is not passed via DNA. Although they have other roots as well, people who emigrate to America began sending down American roots as they began deciding to become Americans. However, since Penn's memo creates an issue, Obama needs no cover up: His American roots are not only long, but distinguished.

As we all know, Obama's mother was Stanley Ann Dunham, Ph.d (Ann).⁴ Her maternal ancestors arrived here during the 1600s and 1700s, the last in 1803, first to Virginia and then Ohio. Her paternal ancestors arrived in Plymouth in the 1600s. A Dunham ancestor started the first grist mill this side of the Atlantic. Like other American pioneers, some Dunhams went West, settling for a time in Indiana in the 1840s. There, William Riley Dunham was both a state Democratic Party official and a representative in the Indiana General Assembly. The Indiana legislature later declared his home a historic landmark. Obama's family tree also included six U.S. Presidents (now seven), Wild Bill Hickock and, because the fruit of every family tree includes some rotters (pun intended), Dick Cheney.

All that said, it may not get much more "American" than Ann's father, Stanley Armour Dunham's (Stanley) enlisting when Pearl Harbor was attacked, though he was married, while wife Madelyn Lee Payne Dunham (Madelyn) took a "Rosie the Riveter" type job. Stanley's brother, Ralph Waldo Emerson Dunham, Jr., was among those who landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day, among other things (while Stanley's Unit supported the Ninth Air Force on D-Day); and Madelyn's brother, Charles Thomas Payne, helped liberate Buchenwald, among other things. I discern no lack of American roots in the people among whom Ann was raised.

Ann's ties to Kansas and other U.S. states: In the 1880s, the Dunhams moved to Kansas from Indiana. I don't know when the Paynes first arrived in Kansas: Western genealogists seem to focus more on a subject's parental ancestors. Stanley, Madelyn and Ann were all born in Kansas. After returning from World War II, Stanley took classes in Berkeley California, bringing his family with him. I don't know how long the Dunhams remained in California, but I have never seen mention of Stanley's receiving a college degree and he never had a job that required college courses. Stanley, Madelyn and Ann lived briefly in Oklahoma and Texas while Stanley pursued work opportunities. However, they returned to Kansas after each departure, until Ann finished seventh grade, when they moved to Washington (state) and then settled permanently in Hawaii. So, yes, Mr. Penn, besides Kansas and Hawaii, which everyone in the world knew about, Ann did, as a minor, live for some amount of time in three U.S. states (not "many"); but, also, yes, Mr. Penn, the Dunhams did clearly consider their native Kansas their home from their respective births there until Ann finished seventh grade (and ended her most formative years).

Accents: Obama, Jr. was born in Hawaii, but he does indeed have a mid-western accent (which "reads" to most Americans as no regional accent at all⁵). Although accents are subject to later influences, accents begin before an infant says a word.⁶ So, Ann's accent derived from her Kansan parents and other Kansans around her; and the President's mid-Western accent indeed derives from his Kansan mother and his Kansan grandparents, all of whom raised him. Ergo, Obama's explanation of his accent was not a nonsensical "cover up," but dead naught on,⁷ factually and scientifically, while Penn claim was, at best, way out in left right field.

An aside about double standards: Notwithstanding the comments in the Penn memo contrasting "not American" Obama with "middle" Hillary, Hillary's ancestors arrived in the U.S. much later than those of Obama.⁸ In addition, Hillary, born the same era as Ann, lived her native Illinois, then Massachusetts, then Connecticut, then Alaska, then Washington, D.C., then California and Texas--and all that before law school graduation! After graduation, she returned to Massachusetts, then returned to Washington, D.C., then lived in Arkansas, then D.C. again and then New York, which was her official residence during the 2008 campaign. So, why would Penn see Hillary as "middle," while seeing Ann's living in three states as a minor (besides Kansas and Hawaii) as something Obama was trying to "cover up?"

All my geographical analysis, like Penn's (such as his was) begs the question, SO WHAT? Why on earth does a chief campaign strategist, of all people, imagine that a candidate for the Democratic nomination for POTUS would want to conceal that his mom lived in more than two U.S. states--while she was a minor, no less? Is Kansas somehow more indicative of "American roots" than California, Texas, Oklahoma, Washington or Hawaii? Isn't going West in search of opportunity, as did Stanley, part of the collective American DNA and pop culture? Aren't ways to connect personally with people in more than one state while stumping a huge asset to a Presidential hopeful? Above all: Why does anyone born in Hawaii or in any U.S. state need anything at all to establish he is American? Doesn't suggesting Obama had to invoke Kansas to prove he was American start to waft birtherism?

Even assuming that a Presidential hopeful would want to cover up connections to California, Oklahoma, Texas and Washington (state) for some weird reason, why would a smart, sane candidate for POTUS risk losing cred with voters by being deceptive about something reporters and oppo research could--and would--debunk easily, such as where his mom lived? (Can you spell "Dodging sniper at Tuzla Air Base gave me First Lady foreign policy cred," Mr. Chief Campaign Strategist?)¹⁰

Given the science and the geographic, genealogical, biographical and political reality, what could possibly have prompted Penn to assume that American-born Obama, Jr. lacked American roots or any thing American? Was it, perchance, the skin color, national origin and religion of the U.S. Senator's black, Kenyan Muslim (by birth, anyway ⁹) father, Barack Obama, Sr. (Obama, Sr.) and perhaps also of his Indonesian Muslim stepfather, Lolo Soetero? Obama, Jr.'s four years in Indonesia? Wouldn't that be racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, parochialism and provincialism? Beyond that, assuming that either receiving Barack, Sr.'s DNA, along with the Dunhams' DNA or proximity to Lolo Soetero for four years caused Obama, Jr. to lose--permanently, no less--his American roots, values and thinking brings bigotry to the level of science fiction--not merely"The Other," but "The Vampiric Other."

Penn made these bizarre fact-free statements without seeming to feel any need to explain them. Had earlier discussions or memos, ones that were not leaked to The Atlantic, elaborated on why Obama was supposedly not American? In any event, any decent candidate would reading the Insight Magazine article and/or Penn's memo of March 19, 2007 have either fired Penn on the spot or made sure he stopped this contemptible tack immediately. Candidate for the Democratic nomination for Presidency of the U.S.A.--the one now putting millions of ordinary Americans into a basket of deplorables, however, did neither. And, no one worthy of a job as a journalist would have come up with the concept remotely like The Vampiric Other on his or her own.

Next: The Chicago Tribune's "Penn-similar" hatchet job "goes there" (Kenya).

Kansans Madelyn, Ann and Stanley, in Kansas

Kansans Madelyn (leaning) and young Ann Dunham, Madelyn's mom, Leona Payne (standing), and Madelyn's aunt, Ruth McCurry (seated), in Kansas.

Kansan Ann Dunham Obama and Hawaiian Barack Obama, Jr., in Hawaii

Kansan Stanley Dunham and Hawaiian Barack Obama, Jr., in Hawaii

Kansans Ann and Madelyn Dunham with Hawaiian Barack Obama, Jr., in Hawaii

Hawaiian Barack Obama, Jr., his teacher and his fifth grade class, in Hawaii
Is Hawaii's racial diversity another reason that some assumed Obama had to refer to Kansas in order to establish his "American" cred?

"Middle" FLOTUS Hillary Rodham Clinton, namesake of Sir Edmund (not), dodging bullets or abbreviating a greeting ceremony because of threats of sniper fire, depending on her version du jour (Even with bulletproof vests, wouldn't a mom who had been apprised of threats of sniper fire have had her 15 year-old daughter on the military transport that had flown them to Tuzla or in some other safer place, even for the truncated greeting ceremony?)

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¹ http://caucus99percent.com/content/hillary-thy-name; http://caucus99percent.com/content/hillary-thy-name-part-two; http://caucus99percent.com/content/hillary-thy-name-part-three; http://caucus99percent.com/content/hillary-thy-name-part-four; http://caucus99percent.com/content/hillary-thy-name-part-five-0; http://caucus99percent.com/content/hillary-thy-name-part-six

² http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2008/08/penn-strategy-memo-m...

³ http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2007-03-27/features/0703270151_1_sen-... (credited to Chicago Tribune national correspondent Tim Jones, with correspondents Kirsten Scharnberg and Laurie Goering contributing) Eight days indicates a degree of haste, given that the article entailed interviews in Washington (state) and Kenya, the latter requiring a translator. Obama had announced his candidacy on February 11, 2007. http://obamaspeeches.com/099-Announcement-For-President-Springfield-Illi... However, I know of no specific reason for haste during March. If anyone does, please let me know.

⁴ Although I will not footnote each fact, in this series, including this article, I have drawn heavily on the following, among other sources: http://www.wargs.com/political/obama.html; http://www.thedunhamhouse.com/. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_of_Barack_Obama; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Armour_Dunham; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madelyn_Dunham; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Dunham; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_T._Payne; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_Clinton; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Penn. The first three sources and Stanley's and Madelyn's wiki contain interesting genealogical and historical information about the Dunhams and the Paynes. If anyone wants to know my source for any particular fact, please post or pm.

⁵ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_American; https://benjamindavidsteele.wordpress.com/2016/05/01/how-did-american-en...

⁶ http://blog.dictionary.com/baby-accents/

⁷ Obama's books did contain other things that were untrue, such as where his parents met. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/19/new-book-raises-questions-...

⁸ Ironically, in 2015, Hillary lied misspoke about all her grandparents' having been immigrants to make her "American roots" seem even shorter. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/apr/16/hillary-c... Bless her heart! Not only that, but Mark Penn's own father, who died when Mark was ten, was a Lithuanian immigrant, which makes his attitude even more befuddling and odious.

⁹ According to Obama, Jr., both his mother and father were atheists by the time he was born.

¹⁰ http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/24/clinton-misspoke-about-bos... http://www.snopes.com/Politics/clintons/hillary.asp As an aside, early in June, 2014, a Hillary fan (or shill) told me that only a sexist RWer would mention Tuzla. I'm not sure if he meant that mention of any of her senseless lies would be sexist and right wing, or only that particular one.