Associated Press: Obama Not A Muslim
People who are sick of the Muslim smears directed at Barack Obama should feel encouraged with the new Associated Press article that will be printed in newspapers across the country, entitled "Obama fights false links to Islam."
The lead sentence: "For Barack Obama, it is an ember that he has doused time and again, only to see it flicker anew: links to Islam fanned by false rumors, innuendo and association." From there it goes over every last rumor that's been out there, from the e-mails to the madrassa stories to the folks who emphasize his middle name, and in every case unambiguously reminds the reader that he is not a Muslim.
Whether this article actually changes anyone's mind remains to be seen, but it's definitely an encouraging sign for how mainstream press coverage will proceed, should he win the nomination.
It's about time this gets debunked all at once in the media. If anyone chooses to instead believe the Cunninghams and the email forward, it will be of their own bigoted choosing. Ignorance of the facts won't be an excuse for much longer.
February 27, 2008 11:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
I take this is the Associated Press way of apologizing to Barack after smearing him this weekend interviewing Roger Stone over Barack Obama's patriotism.
February 27, 2008 11:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
eric: on josh's front page item Six Degrees of Barack Obama, is there supposed to be a link in the post? What am I missing? I googled the phrase, and came up with nothing obvious you guys might be pointing to.
February 27, 2008 11:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
google 6 degrees of kevin bacon to understand the comment. point was that these attacks by tangential association are really lame.
February 28, 2008 12:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
Eric, your link is broken. Extra 'http//' at the start at least but even stripping it leads me to an empty page (could be NoScript or something on my side though.)
February 27, 2008 11:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
I can't read the post - but, since when is it a crime to be Muslim? Someone needs to be making distinctions here.
February 27, 2008 11:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
THIS IS EXCELLENT NEWS!!! FOR HILLARY!!!!
February 27, 2008 11:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Am I the only one who chortles every time idiotic posts this?
February 28, 2008 12:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
you arent
February 28, 2008 12:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
definitely not. :)
February 28, 2008 5:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
My polling data shows that we're in the vast majority.
February 28, 2008 6:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
This post pretty much rules.
February 28, 2008 8:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
Nedra Pickler's article clearly raised a few hackles in AP world.
Assuming Obama has 1 million + supporters, their/our job is to hit these motherfuckers every time they see lies like this. Zero tolerance.
We can organize, phone bank, give money, canvass, and fight lies every single step of the way. A multi-headed beast for truth.
The enemy has no idea what they are in for.
February 28, 2008 12:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
As a Muslim, can I say how freaking sick I am that my religion is considered a smear? Geez, the GOP has managed to solidly lose Muslims in their fear mongering, the Democratic hold on Muslim voting is tenuous at best and the religion is considered a smear.
Sweet.
Tell me again, why I should vote for Clinton?
February 28, 2008 12:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's not a smear per se.
However, the right wing lunatics have created a bogey man with their very insulting and politically incorrect phrases "islamofascists" and "extremeists" and "radicals".
It's shameful, to put it mildly and please know that they do not speak for most of us and we're not of this mentality.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080228/ap_on_el_pr/obama_muslim_myth
February 28, 2008 1:14 AM | Reply | Permalink
It is a smear. Feb. 13th (IIRC) Bob Kerrey in his capacity as a Clinton surrogate used my religion as a smear. He wasn't the first Clinton surrogate to do so, but he was certainly first since Sept. '07 to do it.
I don't expect much of Republicans. If they can keep their knuckles from dragging on the ground for longer than 5 min. I'm usually impressed. Their fear-mongering and smears are the exact reason most (Arab/Middle Eastern/Asian) Muslims in the US are no longer solidly GOP.
February 28, 2008 1:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
I don't consider Hillary Clinton a true Democrat. She's a power driven me-first politician, imo.
I think Barrack Obama will be able to do much in the way of healing the many wounds of division that have been inflicted upon us by the powers that be, so that they can retain that power and gain even more.
It's very sad that in this 21st century, they still pit one against another a la 'divide and conquer' - all in the name of more power.
The Clintons are playing the divide and conquer with Blacks and Hispanics.
The right wingers do it with Judeo Christians and Muslims.
Again, I think Barack Obama offers yes, hope, hope that these divides can be bridged and that we may become color blind. I was very impressed with what he said about trying to restore good relations between African Americans and Jews.
February 28, 2008 1:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
It is indeed a smear against Muslims, but it is also -- and it would seem to be more intended as -- an attempt to associate Obama with a group, Muslims, who currently have a bad reputation -- entirely unwarranted as it may be -- with some of the American electorate.
I would have liked Obama to have been the first to counter the claim of association and to have denounced the smear against Muslims. It wouldn't have been politic to do the first without doing the latter. But the latter would have exposed him to more of the same attack line: we'd see it move from "Obama is a Muslim terrorist!" to "See! Obama defends Muslim terrorists!"
Better for him to have members of his team counter the attack, and the AP article may have been one of the results of such. Once they've gotten on top of that, Obama can speak up for Muslims and be seen to be speaking up for Muslims, not terrorists.
If he can do this without reference to having been associated with terrorists in the first place, that would be best. This would mean letting some time go by, some corrections to take hold, and then choosing opportune moments to demonstrate, for example, that he appreciates efforts being made -- here he could cite some -- by the American-Muslim community to counter terrorism, to improve relations between religious groups, etc..
Obama is having success countering attacks in his own way, in his own time: foregoing confrontation when it would seem smart to do so; engaging in confrontation, in a civilised manner, when it would seem smart to do that.
I think this, his remarkable — and growing — political skill, is going to win over Democrats, Independents and Republicans who may not be as moved as others by his political platform or his rhetorical/inspirational skill.
I'm reminded of something he said a week or two or more ago. He observed that he continued to handle attacks directed toward him without going into a flap. It wasn't so much self-promotion, which it also was, a wee bit, as it was a satisfied self-acknowledgement of an accurately perceived, growing, and indispensable skill. If he continues to mature at the present clip both as a person and as a politician, we may, sooner than later, have a statesman on our hands.
What I find most fascinating in this presidential race is the dynamic between Obama and his current and prospective electorates. He has been promising a great deal. His electorate is expecting a great deal. He is growing, maturing. His electorate is growing in number; I don't know to what extent it may be maturing. They must understand, when he says they are a far greater factor in achieving change than he could possibly be, that he is not kidding.
Anyone currently claiming to be "ready on day one" is either an alien sent by an advanced civilisation on a mission to salvage Earth, delusional, or merely mouthing a line suggested by a campaign "expert." If Obama is ready on day one, it will be as ready as he can be, and it will be because he worked hard to be ready right up until the night before. I think he may just do it. Will those who vote for him, let alone those who vote against him, be even close?
February 28, 2008 9:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
fabooj,
Speaking as Jew to Muslim, it is freaking sick, and disgusting, that your tradition has been so demonized that it has become a slur and a smear.
And they're not done yet.
Apparently circulating the Not-A-Big-Truck-But-A-Series-Of-Tubes for a while now is a purported quote from Obama's The Audacity of Hope, which reads: "I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction."
This is, to the right-wing boneheads who populate the Series of Tubes, apparently, a Bad Thing.
Forget for a moment that the quote may be fictional. Forget that it's taken out of context, without so much as a page number for reference.
Forget all that. And forget that it's obviously intended as a smear. I hope it IS an actual quote. Because, you know what? So will I. Stand with the Muslims, that is, should the political winds turn ugly. As a Jew. Proudly. If enough German Christians had said around 1929, "I will stand with the Jews should the political winds shift in an ugly direction," six million more of my people might be alive today.
"Never again" means something to me: Not to us. Not to anyone.
If things get ugly, fabooj, you tell me where and when, and I'll have your back.
March 2, 2008 7:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Muslim is considered a smear because a way too large portion of the electorate thinks that if youre a Muslim, you are an America-hating terrorist. Unfortunate.
February 28, 2008 12:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
I wanted to add to my comment above that not only is this bogey man creation insulting, but it's obviously very misleading and deceiving.
February 28, 2008 1:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
Those who want to believe Obama is a Muslim will, and they probably were never going to vote for him anyway. Those who would consider voting for him, but fear Islam irrationally, must be reminded constantly that he is not a Muslim, and that even if he were it wouldn't be a bad thing. This is the job of the press and the blogs. Obama can aid his cause significantly by continuing with his theme of unity. Beyond that, America will get the president it deserves.
February 28, 2008 2:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
... better we get this all out now than in November.
February 28, 2008 2:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
Here is a link to article through the Google AP service: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jwzuhvpZ6wva0fP4gSqusiq4U_aQD8V3163O1
I suggest that the bottom portion of the article, which bullet-points the refutation of the fear-mongering rumors, be e-mailed to as many people as possible to act as a viral counterbalance to the Obama is a Muslim e-mails.
February 28, 2008 3:14 AM | Reply | Permalink
Isn't "Obama is not a Muslim" kind of analogous to Lakoff's "Don't think of an elephant?"
February 28, 2008 3:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
Don't think of John McCain and Joe Lieberman in the sauna together.
February 28, 2008 3:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think it is a bit different than Lakoff, because the thought is already out there - Russert really didn't help Tuesday night. A close friend's mother and her friends, all older Jewish Democrats, are actually worried that Obama is really a Muslim based upon getting the false e-mail. What we hopefully learned from the swift boating of John Kerry is that enough people going to think of the elephant as soon as someone suggests that there is an elephant in the room.
February 28, 2008 3:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
I am predicting that the 2008 election will produce a new a new corollary of Godwin's Law: Reductio ad Farrakhanum
or maybe
I don't know - I could probably generate a whole list of potentials.
But on another front, I am also really bothered by the fact that "Muslim" is somehow seen as somehow worrisome in its own right. When are we going to move past this bias? We need to denounce/reject both the rumors that Obama is somehow part of a "threatening" population AND the assumptions that "Muslims," as a group are to be reviled.
February 28, 2008 3:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
Another Clinton superdelegate defection to Obama. This thing is almost finished. Time to focus on McCain.
February 28, 2008 7:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
fabooj,
How would you like it if somebody called you a Christian?
Even Jesus Christ would probably be pissed these days.
Don't freak out, man. I won't call you a Christian, if you won't call me one.
Best, Terry
February 28, 2008 8:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's probably a good thing that this nonsense is being taken care of now rather than later.
If this were brought up for the first time in October, it would be a stupid story, but it would still cause doubts in the minds of some.
On the other hand, if this is merely recycled in October, it's not only a stupid story, it's an old story.
And in politics being an old story discredits it far more effectively than being a stupid story.
February 28, 2008 8:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
"As a Muslim, can I say how freaking sick I am that my religion is considered a smear?"
Agreed.
But with Obama it's not just an attempted smear, but also factually wrong.
It is remarkable that the GOP noise machine can keep lying and misleading people on this. Sort of like the run up to the Iraq war.
February 28, 2008 9:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
Somebody should send this to Tim Russert.
His obsession with muslim Farrakan seemed to be along these lines.
Or is it that he's black?
I don't get why Russert made a big deal about Farrakan. Should Hillary apologize for every white bigot out there? Ann Coulter comes to mind.
I love how these big fatheads in the media like Russert are unaccountable to the public.
February 28, 2008 9:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
"It's probably a good thing that this nonsense is being taken care of now rather than later."
I agree. But it needs to be forcefully debunked.
It is good to clear the air and take away fewer toys for the GOP to play with.
February 28, 2008 9:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think Obama shouldn't be running away from notions that he is Muslim. He ought to make a "Ich bien ein Muslim" statement in the way that his model, Jack Kennedy made his statement about being a Berliner. Kennedy was not (literally) a Berliner and Obama is not a Muslim, but he should stand in solidarity with Muslims, not run away from such acusations. What kind of acusation is this, anyway? At a time when Europe was in the middle ages, Muslims were pretty darn advanced. I would have much more respect to Obama if he said that he would be proud to stand with Muslims. His relatives in Kenya are Muslims, no? He is being handed an opportunity to renounce and reject anti-Muslim sentiments and he is dropping the ball when he runs from such (false) accusations.
February 28, 2008 10:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, right. I think you picked the right handle, 'out of the loop.' Jack Kennedy didn't say, "Ich bin ein Nazi" or "Ich bin ein Communist.' (That wasn't meant as an anti-Muslim slur, BTW, only a comparison of popular feeling in much of America.)
On the other hand, the rumors about him being Muslim are almost certainly better than if they were saying he's secretly an atheist. His mother, after all, was a nonbeliever.
Of course, as an atheist myself, I get sick of that being used as a smear, but I've got to be realistic. At any rate, I don't care about anyone's religion, as long as they strongly support the strict separation of church and state. As Barack Obama does.
February 28, 2008 11:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's about time the MSM took care of this. I am so sick of this story. As an aside, this campaign, I have taken every opportunity to remind the people who know me that while I have a muslim first name (my dad too was muslim--proud of it I might add), I am a christian. One's name doe not one's religion make. Witness all those with christain names who are in fact atheists, agnostics, Buddhists, etc.
February 28, 2008 1:53 PM | Reply | Permalink