Photos of the Obamas with Edward Said at the 1998 event:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1990127/posts?page=9#9
How's this
Thread on FR last night with photos of oamamama and wife at table with Said -
"This photo from 1998 has been circulating on the Internet for a while now, but nobody seems to ask a very basic question: Why was a relatively obscure State Senator seated next to the high and mightily Keynote speaker, Edward Said, at this May 1998 Arab community dinner in Chicago? These types of events ordinarily do not have random seating. Someone obviously thought it important to seat Obama next to the Palestinian radical and guest of honor. Why?"
GOOGLE is your friend