After that, I inform Martha that I'm dragging her to the apartment of old friends, ex-Weathermen, Bernadine Dohrn and Bill Ayers, hosting a party for
Senator Leahy. Perhaps
Edward Said will be there I urge her to come by promising that the event will push the edges of the envelope of her centrist politics.
![Edward Wadie Saïd MRSL (إدوارد وديع سعيد; 1 November 1935 25 September 2003) was a Palestinian American literary theorist, cultural critic, political activist, and an outspoken advocate of Palestinian rights. He was University Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, and is a founding figure in postcolonial theory.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/Edward-Said.jpg/200px-Edward-Said.jpg)
Edward Wadie Saïd MRSL (إدوارد وديع سعيد; 1 November 1935 25 September 2003) was a Palestinian American literary theorist, cultural critic, political activist, and an outspoken advocate of Palestinian rights. He was University Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, and is a founding figure in postcolonial theory.
![From left to right, Michelle Obama, then Illinois state senator Barack Obama, Columbia University Professor Edward Said and Mariam Said at a May 1998 Arab community event in Chicago at which Edward Said gave the keynote speech. [Ali Abunimah archives]](http://prorev.com/703obamasaid.jpg)