by Dawn Morgan

I WAS GOING to diss American politics this week, but a reader sent me a list of fifty factoids about Mr President-to-be Barack Obama so I am sharing most of them with you.

Obama:

* Collects Spider-Man and Conan The Barbarian comics.

* Has a name which means "one who is blessed" in Swahili.

* Likes to sink his teeth into his wife Michelle's shrimp linguini.

* Won a Grammy in 2006 for audio version of his memoir Dreams From My Father.

* Is left-handed, like five other post-war presidents.

* Has read every Harry Potter book.

* Owns a pair of red boxing gloves autographed by Muhammad Ali.

* Worked in a Baskin-Robbins shop as a teen and now can't stand ice cream.

* Likes to snack on chocolate-peanut protein bars.

* Has eaten dog, snake and grasshopper while living in Indonesia.

* Speaks Spanish.

* Refused to watch CNN while campaigning and preferred sports channels.

* Likes to drink black forest berry iced tea.

* Promised Michelle to quit smoking before running for president, and didn't.

* Had a pet ape called Tata while in Indonesia.

* Can bench press 200lbs.

* Was called Barry until his university days when he used his full name.

* Picks Moby-Dick by Herman Melville as his favourite book.

* Went to a stag party for his half-sister's fiance, but left when the stripper showed.

* Had a Senate office desk that once belonged to Robert Kennedy.

* Picks Casablanca and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest as favourite movies.

* Carries a tiny Madonna and child statue and the bracelet of a soldier who's in Iraq.

* Was refused by an all-female committee for inclusion in a black pin-up calendar at Harvard.

* Likes music by Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Bach and The Fugees.

* Took Michelle to see Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing on their first date.

* Enjoys playing Scrabble and poker.

* Doesn't drink coffee and rarely drinks alcohol.

* Would have been an architect if he were not a politician.

* Has two daughters: Maila, 10, wants to go to Yale then become an actress and Sasha, 7, dreams of being a singer and dancer.

* Can't stand the saggy baggy look of pants riding low on the butt.

* Only repaid his student loan four years ago after signing his book deal.

* Has four fireplaces in his Chicago house.

* Says his worst habit is constantly checking his BlackBerry.

* Uses an Apple Mac laptop.

* Wears US$1 500 suits by Hart Schaffner Marx.

* Owns four identical pairs of black size 11 shoes.

* Has his hair cut weekly by his neighbourhood barber Zariff, at US$21 a pop.

* Likes to look at television shows M*A*S*H and The Wire.

* Has been given the code name Renegade by the Secret Service.

* Was called Bear by his late grandmother.

* Plans to install a basketball court on White House grounds.

* Likes paintings by Pablo Picasso.

* Cooks a good chilli.

* Had many "street urchin" friends in Indonesia.

* Keeps a carving on his desk of a wooden hand holding an egg, a Kenyan symbol of the fragility of life.

* Had a father who was a senior economist in the Kenyan government.

* Dawn Morgan is a senior NATION reporter who hopes people accept Obama as a human and don't expect perfection. Telephone 430-5495. Email dawnmorgan@nationnews.com