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The
mother-in-law
Marian Robinson
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The
Mother-in-Law |
Obama's transition team confirmed that his
71-year-old mother-in-law would be moving into the grand residence at
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Obama has said he would be delighted to
have his wife's mother, Marian Robinson, join the first family in
Washington.
"Mrs. Robinson
will be
coming with the family to help the girls get acclimated, and she
will determine in the coming months whether or not she wants to stay in
D.C. permanently," said Katie McCormick Lelyveld, spokeswoman for
Michelle Obama.
During the campaign, she retired from her job as a bank
secretary to care for the Obama girls, Sasha, 7, and Malia, 10, while
their parents were on the road. |
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The
Mother-in-Law Practices Witchcraft |
I did a double-take on this
one, but the reliable, Townhall.com is
reporting that the Obama White House is abuzz with talk of
witchcraft by first grandmother, 72-year-old Marian Robinson, who lives
in the White House residence. A close friend of Michelle Obama
says the president is furious at his mother-in-law after learning that
she was practicing Santeria, an African spirit cult, in the White House.
"The president is quite upset about this on two different levels.
First, he is a committed Christian, no matter what his critics say about
Reverend Wright. He is adamant that Sasha and Malia be raised with
Christian influences. He does not want them to be involved with
African voodoo. And secondly, he is worried about the political
fallout if his enemies get wind of this. Rev. Wright was bad
enough, but this would be political suicide," a close friend of
Michelle’s confided.
Religion took center stage during the
campaign last year when videos showed the Rev. Jeremiah Wright shouting
"God damn America." Obama was forced to distance himself from the
since-retired pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago,
where he worshiped for 20 years. Many people were shocked by the
videos and questioned Obama’s fitness to be president. Since taking
office, Obama has avoided worshiping in public and now prefers the
chapel at the presidential retreat at Camp David.
This is how it
happened. Marian Robinson became increasingly frustrated as her
husband, Fraser Robinson, was hobbled by multiple sclerosis in the late
1980s. The family pastor prayed with her and counseled her, but
"she turned to Santeria in a desperate hope," Michelle’s friend said.
"Michelle put her foot down when she heard that her mother took her dad
to ceremonies where they did spells and trances, and sacrificed animals,
chickens and goats I think. But Marian was desperate and kept
going anyway, even when her husband was to sick to go with her. I
don’t think the president knew anything about this earlier because it
was before they met. Michelle and Craig (her brother) wanted to
close the book on this and never talked about it again after their
father died in 1991."
The first grandma appears to be worried
about her health now, even though doctors pronounce her in good shape.
"Marian invited an old friend from Chicago to visit her at the White
House, and she performed a Santeria ceremony in the residence.
When Michelle saw this woman, a voodoo priestess she recognized her from
when her father was sick, she had a fit. When she told the
president about it, he blew up and said, ‘No voodoo in the White House.
Absolutely. I don’t care what you call it.’ As far as I
know, it only happened once," the friend said.
The resident was
"totally in favor" when his mother-in-law moved into the White House as
a live-in babysitter for 11-year-old Malia and 8-year-old Sasha.
Obama reportedly told Michelle that her mother will have to go back to
Chicago if she does not "stop this witchcraft mumbo-jumbo immediately"
and ordered the Secret Service to not allow Marian’s friend to return to
the White House. |
| Obama's Mother-In-Law Likes White House Life |
The AP says Barack Obama's mother-in-law lived her entire life in
Chicago, so it was only natural that her move to the White House came
with some resistance. Try it for three months, her son-in-law says
the family suggested.
A year later, it seems Marian Robinson is
here to stay.
She spends a lot of time looking after
granddaughters Malia, 11, and Sasha, 8, but has been carving out a new
life for herself, too. In the words of Obama, she's become "quite
the lady about town."
The widowed Mrs. Robinson has made friends
and has had friends over to the White House. She goes shopping on
her own, enjoys visits to the Kennedy Center and takes Malia and Sasha
to and from school just about every day -- all while enjoying a level of
anonymity that has Obama and her own daughter, first lady Michelle
Obama, feeling both pleased and a bit envious at the same time.
"She's quite the lady about town," Obama said. "But the nice thing
is that she just walks out the gate and goes."
Mrs. Robinson took
her first trip abroad last year, flying aboard Air Force One with the
family to Russia, Italy and Ghana. With the family, she got to
meet the pope, tour Rome's ancient Coliseum and inspect a former slave
holding compound on the coast of Ghana. She also joins the family
for weekends at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland
Continue reading
here . . .
The AP
doesn't mention whether Mrs. Robinson is still
practicing
Santeria
in the White House or not. |
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Copyright Beckwith 2010
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