ABSTRACT
These two pieces on pop life and familial roots in our (Obama) time were written a year apart but they feel like twins so your editor has placed them side by side. The first piece was originally posted at https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781315130798/23346b1d-7a84-409e-b4cb-52d48b6f38e7/content/www.firstofthemonth.org">firstofthemonth.org a day or two after the first presidential debate in the fall of 2012.
