Home » Opinion » Columns September 02. 2013 7:35PM Thomas Sowell: Obama is a truly great phony Many years ago, I was a member of a committee that was recommending to whom grant money should be awarded. Since I knew one of the applicants, I asked if this meant that I should recuse myself from voting on his application. "No," the chairman said. "I know him too — and he is one of the truly great phonies of our time." The man was indeed a very talented phony. He could convince almost anybody of almost anything — provided that they...