http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4469704/Barack-Obama-proposed-girlfriend-Michelle.htmlRising Star, by David J. Garrow, claims Barack Obama dated Sheila Miyoshi Jager before he met Michelle
He proposed to her in 1986 but her parents said no because they were too young
Garrow writes that Obama believed he needed to 'fully identify as African American' to fulfill his political ambitions
He believed that having a non-black spouse could damage his prospects, according to the book
But Obama proposed again before leaving for Harvard Law School, and again was turned down
The future president met his wife-to-be at the university but Garrow claims he kept seeing Jager on-and-off for the first year of their relationship
But they severed their relationship once and for all after the Obamas married