"The truth is rarely pure and never simple" (Oscar Wilde)

Only a handful of political blogs saw fit to discuss the Larry Sinclair debacle in any detail. Mainstream media have studiously avoided the issue. To my mind this is a dereliction of duty.

In case the name Larry Sinclair has managed to elude a passing reader's attention, he's the individual who claims to have used cocaine and had oral sex with Barack Obama in the back of a limousine and in a motel room in 1999. Sinclair's past record of petty crime, 20 years ago, and history of drug taking doesn't make his story at all credible, yet at a press conference at the National Press Club last Wednesday, 18June, he came over as sensible, articulate, clear and thoughtful. He's certainly no out-and-out nutcase. More information can be read at Citizen Wells blog, where there is also a link to the official video of the NPC conference, at the 19 June entry.

Sinclair didn't pull any punches when speaking to the press, nor did he ignore his sordid background. He asked not that the journalists believe him, only that they hear him and investigate his story using the information he gave, which included some relevant telephone numbers and the name of the limousine driver. Sinclair seems to have little to gain, but everything to lose by what he's doing.

Larry Sinclair's birth data isn't available on-line, making it impossible to use his natal chart to assess what kind of guy he really is. I'm not inclined to believe every single detail of his tale, but on the other hand I don't think his story ought to be dismissed out of hand. Senator Obama aims to be President and Commander in Chief of the USA, one of the most powerful nations on the planet. If he was taking drugs as recently as 1999, voters should be aware of the fact. Gay sex is not important, drug taking is, especially for someone who could have his finger on the nuclear button or be answering that infamous 3am phone call. Members of the media fall down badly in their duty to the public if they do not undertake some serious, in depth investigative journalism here.

What's available to astrologers in the absence of Sinclair's date of birth? Not much. Looking at planetary positions on the day of the NPC conference is about the only thing possible, aside from using horary astrology to answer a question on the matter. It'd be interesting to hear what an horary astrologer could come up with.

On 18 June retrograde Mercury was at 13 degrees of Gemini. The communications planet was about to station and turn direct in just a few hours. The Moon, which is thought to represent the public in matters such as this was in expansive Sagittarius, more or less opposite Mercury as it happens - it seemed as though Mercury was shouting out to the public at large, across the zodiac! Saturn, the planet connected with law, rules, restrictions and authority lay at 3 degrees of critical Virgo, with no major aspects from inner or outer planets. Oddly enough The Law (Saturn) in the form of two FBI officers turned up as the conference ended and arrested Sinclair on some, as yet, unlinked and unknown charge emanating from Delaware. As there were no aspects to Saturn the fact that the charges were unrelated to the event in question seems appropriate. Nothing to be gleaned from that brings us any nearer to the truth though.

Sinclair remained in custody until yesterday afternoon.(see Citizen Wells blog, linked above for Sinclair's report of the circumstances surrounding his arrest).