For those of us with some tenuous but fond links to Obama, Sports Illustrated gave us quite a treat today with their article on Obama's High School In Hawaii, Punahou. But in addition to all the great stories about the school, its background, and its combined focus on academic and athletic excellence, there was also a brief Interview with Obama
A few excerpts below the fold.
The reporter was able to speak to Dan Hale, one of Obama's team members on the 1979 state championship team.
While Barack Obama was not a starter on that squad, the Senator "definitely had game," says Dan Hale, a member of that team who is now the school's boys' basketball coach. "There was a group of us gym-rat types, always looking for a game. Barack could play. He had a passion for it. He had a nice little running jumper in the lane, with his signature double-pump. If he missed, he'd be the first guy following his shot. If you left him open, he'd stick it, but he'd take you to the hoop, too."
Obama talked a bit about the role of basketball in his youth.
Obama: I think it's absolutely true that for somebody who grew up without a father in the house, an African-American of mixed race who was living in a community where there weren't a lot of African-Americans, basketball was a refuge, a place where I made a lot of my closest friends, and picked up a lot of my sense of competition and fair play. It was very important to me all the way through my teenage years.
Although not a starter, Obama had this to say about being part of a team.
SI: Even though you didn't start? Was it a worthwhile experience just being part of a team?
Obama: Absolutely. Being part of something and finishing it up. And I learned a lot about discipline, about handling disappointments, being more team oriented, and realizing not everything is about you. Those are lessons that have stayed with me.
And finally - this last quote:
SI: I was struck by the school's heavy emphasis on public service. How deep an influence did that have on you, if at all?
Obama: Certainly, there was an emphasis on values and ethics and being a good citizen, as well as a good student. I didn't always observe these admonitions. But [that emphasis] has an impact on you. It gives you a sense of what you should be striving for. And even if you're rebelling from it, as I was during my teenage years, it still sunk in, and had a long term impact on the trajectory of my life."
On a more personal note, after having two kids attend and graduate from Punahou, I can attest to the fact that like most human institutions, the school is certainly an "imperfect vessel." But even as my own children struggled to fit in, rebelled against the institutional strictures (and sometimes failed), they nonetheless learned many a strong positive lesson from the teachers and the school. Senator Obama is just one of a number of remarkable graduates of a remarkable school.