[quote=Casca] I have nothing in common with the man, except that I too have spent years in the political gutter that is Chicago, and know what one finds there… raw opportunism, but that has been his trajectory since his arrival in Hawaii as a teenager, and entry into the halls of privilege.[/quote]

A sweeping generalization about a stranger, who has the courage to open up his entire life to the public eye. Who has devoted much time and effort to public service. How can you be so arrogant as to think you know what someone’s “trajectory” since being a teenager could possibly be? You are accusing him of guilt by association–for the same crime you confess to have committed–being involved in politics in Chicago. Unless you spent time getting to know any person, you cannot possibly have any insight into what their motivations are. It is equally possible that he got involved in Chicago politics as a youthful, idealistic black man to “make a difference” in one of the most poverty-striken, racially divided areas of the country?