A new book says BARACK OBAMA proposed to another woman twice before he met MICHELLE. This woman wasn't black, which the author claimed created a problem. Because at the time, Obama was building his political identity, which included identifying strongly with the black community.
Her name is Sheila Miyoshi Jager, and she is of Dutch and Japanese ancestry. She and Barack met in the mid '80s when he was a community organizer in Chicago.
But she says one of the things that got in the way of their relationship was his political ambition. By 1987, he had already decided he wanted to be president. He was also identifying more solidly as African-American.
And he was worried that dating someone who wasn't black would hurt his aspirations. She says, quote, "He felt trapped between the woman he loved and the destiny he knew was his."
They broke up when he went to Harvard, which is where he met Michelle. But they did see each other on and off for a year or so, early in his relationship with Michelle.