Obama’s brother-in-law to host debate viewing party

Oregon State head basketball coach Craig Robinson’s first trip to the South Park Blocks won’t be to coach against the Vikings.

Instead, Robinson will be stumping for his brother-in-law, Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama, at a debate viewing party tonight in Montgomery Hall. He said he has done about 50 appearances for the campaign so far.

Robinson, 46, is the older brother of Michelle Obama and a former Ivy League basketball star at Princeton University. He earned the Ivy League Player of the Year award in 1982 and 1983, and played in the NCAA Championship twice.

“I’ve had the honor of knowing [Obama] a long time,” Robinson said. “What you see with Barack is what you get. He is a very hardworking, smart person. He’s a consolidator. He brings people together. It’s very exciting to talk about he and my sister and how they met.”

Robinson said he is very close with his sister and brother-in-law, and that he and his sister work to humanize the candidate.

“What she brings to the campaign is the ability to help people understand where we all come from, we meaning our family, and how Barack especially is as close to most of us as voters as any candidate in history,” Robinson said. “She sort of helps round him out as a person and a candidate.”

Though the campaign has been grueling, Robinson said he has enjoyed his appearances.

“The things that the campaign has asked me to do have been timely with my schedule and have been fun to do,” he said. “I get to do the easy stuff. I don’t have to debate anybody. The only challenging part is you don’t have enough time to tell as many people as you want to the story of Barack Obama.”

Robinson graduated from Princeton in 1983 with a sociology degree and was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers. He played two seasons overseas before accepting an assistant coaching position at the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1988.

In addition, Robinson also coached at Northwestern, and has an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and spent time in the private sector.

After starting his time at Northwestern, Robinson was the head coach at Brown University for two years before being hired by Oregon State after last season.

Recently Robinson’s association with a presidential candidate has taken him far from the realm of coaching collegiate athletics. He shared the stage with his brother-in-law at the Democratic National Convention in Denver earlier this year and has appeared at other campaign stops.

Robinson said that Obama is a “regular guy who cares about the country,” and that he is the same person whether he is on stage debating or at the dinner table. Besides, Robinson said he was sure of Obama’s character long before the public knew who his was.

“I vetted him as a brother-in-law way before people vetted him as a president,” he said with a chuckle.

The viewing party is being sponsored by the Democratic Party of Oregon. Robinson will be in the Montgomery Room at 5 p.m. Call 503-236-2008 to RSVP or e-mail [email protected].