Most unfortunate is the need to deny you are a Muslim. We rarely see that issue addressed. 9/11, petro-politics and the fearmongering surrounding terrorism have created negative stereotypes of Middle Eastern peoples. Now you have to run from accusations such as the ones Obama contends with. You have to deny you're gay or bisexual. You have to hide your atheism if you hope to hold office. You have to conceal many facets of who you are, including ones for which there are no rational reasons they make you unfit for office, to raise children or to claim your own brand of morality that does no harm to others. Muslims should be offended by the very nature of this debate, open public acknowledgment it's "bad" to be a Muslim. I don't hear Obama making this case, just his surrogates rushing to assure the electorate he's normal. You know, not Muslim.

"continuing whisper campaign"

I may not be in the correct state or read the right news sources but I only hear the whispers because people keep denouncing them. Is Bloomberg trying to keep the whispers alive?

Note to all you patriotic, American-born Muslim children out there: don't even *think* about running for president when you get older. All that stuff you've been raised to believe about your faith -- that it's one of the three great Abrahamic traditions & one of the pillars among world religions -- is so much bunk & hooey. What you proudly call yourselves is what middle America throws around as an insult, and what otherwise rational people go to extraordinary lengths to avoid being called.

But thank goodness you were born in the land of opportunity.

Calling Barack Obama a Muslim is false, and when it is knowingly or carelessly done to harm, it can fairly be called, in effect, a smear. But if I were a Muslim -- I am not -- I would neverthelss take great offense at what amounts to the casual equating of "Muslim" with "insult". We would surely think more carefully before calling the false labeling of a Christian as a Jew, for example, as a terrible thing to say about someone. I think and hope in time this will come to be viewed as one of the more unfortunate aspects of this year's campaign.

junebug at 12:58 is right, sad to say.

I also wouldn't recommend running as an atheist, or as a worshipper of trees.

But if we happen to find out this year that we as a nation are, after all, grown-up enough to elect a black man with an odd name, there might be hope in the long run.

I continually flip-flop between optimism and pessimism.

B

You are wrong. My son told me just the other day that Barack Obama was a Muslim and for that reason I shouldn't vote for him. I told him his source was a liar and for that reason he shouldn't listen to the Reverend.

Refusing to call someone what they want to be called is a classic tool of oppression. That what you decide to call them instead isn't particularly bad is irrelevant. It will become so very quickly in the mind of the person that is being oppressed in this manner.

And yes, it is most assuredly insulting to the muslim community in America and around the world. But I don't think they will find fault with Obama for loudly declaring that he is a christian and not a muslim. That is a positive affirmation of his christian faith, not a put down of Islam. Most muslims would object to being called christians, but not because they think there is something wrong with Christianity, but rather that they love their own faith and are proud of it.

I think Obama should continue to loudly proclaim his christian faith, loudly deny that he's muslim, and equally loudly condemn the rumours as born of anti-Islamic prejudice that is beneath the dignity of the nation.

the continuing whisper campaign that Barack Obama is Muslim
...and he is the most liberal of Muslims.

I may not be in the correct state or read the right news sources but I only hear the whispers because people keep denouncing them. Is Bloomberg trying to keep the whispers alive? Posted by: B

We can't judge whether you live in a "correct state" since you don't identify it or whether you read the "right news sources" since you don't identify them, but the e-mail still circulates, and other assholes still "whisper" it.

Except for his mishandling of the NYC GOP convention in 2004, Bloomberg is one of the good guys, and I imagine that he will eventually endorse Obama.

Given his audience and his constituency at home, what Bloomberg did was brave politically.

At least Barack Obama hasn't slaughtered innocent human beings or cheated on his wife, the way that his opponent, John McCain has.

I find it ironic in that in the Jewish tradition in a mixed marriage its the mother that decides the ethnicity of the child. IE if you have a Jewish mother and a say, hispanic father, you are considered Jewish.

Anyone can join the Jewish, Christian or Islamic religions. They are all Abrahamic. Religion is supposed to bring people together not create lines of seperation.

Jet: Religion is supposed to bring people together not create lines of seperation.

Never has, never will. Individual practitioners of any of these religions will quite often act the way their God presumably wants them to, i.e. with generosity and kindness. But in the aggregate, they are dangerous more often than not. It's baffling, isn't it?

Go here to see one of the sources:
http://www.nationalcampaignfund.com

Apologies, should have left more information on that. See this page http://www.exposeobama.com/obamaislamhe.html which comes from that "National Campaign Fund" organization which is http://www.nationalcampaignfund.com

This email was sent out by "Human Events" today, sending people to these sites:

But before we go any further... let's make one thing perfectly clear. It doesn't really matter whether Barack Hussein Obama WAS a Muslim or not!

What DOES matter is -- Can Barack Hussein Obama be trusted?

Is Barack Hussein Obama side-stepping questions about his Muslim childhood?

And if so... WHY?

Pivotal questions come to mind:

is there more information -- as of yet undisclosed -- that Obama thinks the American people would find repugnant?

if he is side-stepping questions, is it because he REALLY believes that the patriotic people of America are all GUN-TOTIN', BIBLE-THUMPIN' bigots and thus incapable of understanding the full-and-complete TRUTH?

and perhaps the most important question is, WHY DO the liberal media and other assorted Obamaniacs, scramble about and circle the wagons around Barack Hussein Obama EVERY SINGLE TIME QUESTIONS ABOUT HIM ARE RAISED?

That last question is already becoming the most important.

When we released this commercial to the media on Thursday morning, the liberal 'blogosphere' went crazy. Within hours, liberals had already put their smear-machine into overdrive. And within hours we received scores of profane (and in some cases outright menacing) calls on our answering machine.

What's the bottom line?

Simply put, LIBERALS DO NOT WANT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO SEE THIS COMMERCIAL!

THEY KNOW THIS COMMERCIAL WILL DO MAJOR DAMAGE TO BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA!

Please understand, the fact that you are reading this letter is an indication that, as a conservative and a patriot, you already know that BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA IS THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA!

But the VAST MAJORITY of Americans are still spoon-fed news from the liberal media... a media which still holds a virtual monopoly on what most Americans read, see and hear... a media which has already shown itself to clearly be in Barack Hussein Obama's camp!

It's baffling, isn't it? -Thers

Its irritating as all get out. Its like the Smiths versus the Jones in some backwoods Arkansas town.

Bot the families are related [closely] but refuse to stop feuding with one another.

If thats what they want to do, fine, just leave me, and politics out of it.

BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA IS THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA!

Charles Manson is going to be so depressed when he hears this.

Tut, tut. A proper liberal would suggest how wonderful it would be to have a Moslem for president. It would show the world we're a diverse nation.

Luther I know my GOD, but I dont force my beliefs on other people thru the government. A proper liberal would say keep your religion in your church and in your heart for politics are too dirty for GOD.

Monotheists are never "brought together." Only in the East do you find people who simultaneously embrace Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Shintoism, etc, seeing them as different manifestations of the same thing.

Jet,

"IE if you have a Jewish mother and a say, hispanic father, you are considered Jewish."

Being Jewish and being Hispanic ("Hispanic" is not a race) aren't mutually exclusive. There are many Jewish Hispanics--Argentina has one of the largest Jewish communities in the world.

Ditto what B at 12:53 wrote.

Bloomberg is a conservative. He's the "got to get elected in NYC" version of a conservative, but he's still a conservative.

What's his motivation to hang himself out there on something like this, if not to promote the conclusion that there is some note-worthy evidence out there that Obama is a Muslim?

In this case I think the selfish explanation is more likely than the public-spirited one.

If he really wanted to help Barack by nipping this in the bud, he would endorse him, or say something like he thinks Barack would be ok as president. That would lend Bloomberg's credibility to Barack in a way that just saying you think something you have no actual personal knowledge of either is or isn't true doesn't.

Obama will have a hard time dealing with this precisely because, as some of the commenters have pointed out, there's nothing wrong with being a Muslim. He can't come out swinging, as he could if he were accused of being a pederast, but how indignant can he allow himself to get over an incorrect identification of his religion? Maybe he should just say precisely that: "There are people out there spreading false rumors that I am a Muslim. I am not a Muslim. Not that there would be anything wrong with that. If I were a Muslim, I would be proud of it, and I would tell you. But the plain fact is, I'm not. The people who are spreading these rumors know why they're doing it, and so do you. Some small part of this country thinks there IS something wrong with being a Muslim. I don't want their votes. The Republicans do. That's the difference between us."

The sleaze will only get worse. By October, the Greedy Old People will be running on "Obama is a sleeper."

Why is it that we still have fools in this country who think dark skinned people are "suspicious.?"

That's a real problem.

CJColucci,

Just like the Seinfeld episode where a reporter published a story saying that Jerry and George were a gay couple. Whenever someone asked them about it, they said they weren't gay but always also said "Not that there's anything wrong with that." In an interview, Jerry Seinfeld said that they decided that as long as they said "not that there's anything wrong with that" every time, they'd be able to do the episode.

Allah forgive America,

and forgive that racist scum fucker who anonymously posted at June 20, 2008 at 2:14 PM.

Bloomberg is a conservative. He's the "got to get elected in NYC" version of a conservative, but he's still a conservative.

What's his motivation to hang himself out there on something like this, if not to promote the conclusion that there is some note-worthy evidence out there that Obama is a Muslim? Posted by: Swan

Swan, you don't know dick about Bloomberg.

Golly. This thread's got it all. Accusing McCain of murdering innocent civilans. (Be interesting to hear more about that one, BTW.) Another person saying that there's only hope for the future of America if they elect Barry. And of course, that creepy guy who actually posts under the name "junebug" boo-hooing the poor image of Muslims. It sure is a mystery where that negative PR came from, isn't it? Ladies and Gentleman: Your Washington Monthly.

Given his audience and his constituency at home, what Bloomberg did was brave politically.

For the record, I don't actually think Bloomberg is pushing the story. I also don't think it is brave to state outrage at the Obama whispers in front of a jewish audience. WTF? Might be brave and in front of a muslim audience.

As I have asserted all campaign season the American people aren't that racist and they aren't that bigoted. Obviously false charges that presume cultural ignorance on the part of the public are going to backfire.

In fact if "Obama is a secret muslim" stays in the news through September it will help Obama immensely. Having Obama or his advocates mention it doesn't hurt one bit. If anything, this is what Bloomberg is doing. My guess is Bloomberg stays "neutral" through the conventions and pushes and extends pro-Obama stories in the mean time. Perhaps he'll get outraged at something McCain says in October.

Jeff II, you must be pretty exceptionally knowledgeable or insightful if you think you've got the Rosetta-Stone key to deciphering when the dude is pandering and when he's honest.

Bloomberg was going to run as a Republican against our candidates. Or as an independent-- but the point is, when the Republicans didn't have someone clear to run against us, he was hoping support would form behind him & he would fill the gap. He's on their side and he essentially showed that he would take a stand against us (and bow to whatever the Republicans required of him to be the one to carry their standard) by holding himself out there to be the one to do this.

Anyone as sophisticated as Bloomberg, who would run as the conservative candidate against our Democratic candidate, is an enemy of Democratic and liberal politics in America.

Furthermore--

Bloomberg's background is the finance industry. And he's not some little hireling-- he's a huge, plugged-in muck-a-muck. That's not a great populist credential.

So that's some of what I know about Bloomberg.

It isn't insulting the Muslim community to dispel the lies being told about Obama. These are lies and people actually believe them. And the media doesn't dispel them. I heard an NPR reporter reply
basically he didn't thing Obama was Muslim when told this by his interview subject. Bloomberg is right. These are lies told to inflame an evil stereotype against a political opponent.

It isn't insulting the Muslim community to dispel the lies being told about Obama. These are lies and people actually believe them. And the media doesn't dispel them. I heard an NPR reporter reply
basically he didn't thing Obama was Muslim when told this by his interview subject. Bloomberg is right. These are lies told to inflame an evil stereotype against a political opponent.

steve duncan:

Now you have to run from accusations such as the ones Obama contends with. You have to deny you're gay or bisexual. You have to hide your atheism if you hope to hold office. You have to conceal many facets of who you are, including ones for which there are no rational reasons they make you unfit for office, to raise children or to claim your own brand of morality that does no harm to others.

"Now"? You talk as if it hasn't been ever thus.

Wouldn't it be funny if McCain chooses Holy Joe the DINO as VP, & then Obama raises him one and chooses Bloomberg the RINO?

And thus, incidentally, ensuring the first Jewish VP in history?

Oh God, make it so.

Oh, I forgot. Aren't both guys now officially "independent"?

I applaud Bloomberg for speaking out.

Any precedent of lies in campaigns distorts the voters' rights to make clear and candid decisions.

Lying in order to win, or even being the beneficiary of a lie, is the opposite of liberty.

Oh God, make it so.

Nothing against Jewish folks in general, but . . . these guys? . . . really??

Chet, my use of "Now" more specifically referred to running from an accusation of being Muslim. That has not been an issue many political candidates have had to deal with on the national stage in our history. Yes, hiding your homosexualty or professing belief in a god when atheism was your true creed has almost always been the case.

When someone says that Obama is a Muslim the response is simple: "They are either misinformed or are trying to steal your vote."

"They are either misinformed or are trying to steal your vote."

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

There are as many American Muslims as American Jews, I believe, and in the eyes of the law they are just as important. This whispering campaign is ultimately Bad for the Jews, because it adds to questions about corrupting influences of Jews on our politics.

B you don't leave the liberal blogosphere or turn on Fox News very often, do you?

Because "Baracknophobia" is out there, and it's virulent.

Brave or not, Bloomberg did the right thing. These Muslim rumors have been rocketing around the Jewish community for months and months now. I'm with Kevin: good for him.

Hey, Lucy! Long time. How's the love affair with Hopie going? Any tiny, nagging suspicions starting to tickle the back of the brain yet, or should I check back later?

Lucy, my understanding was that most of this crap was discussed and refuted months ago. I think some of john's edited clips even date back a year. A lot of it was in the form of "how do you deal with these stupid internet rumors?" and I don't think the discussion necessarily was negative. It makes his detractors look like tinfoil hat nutjobs. He went to school in Indonesia as a six year old? STFW.

I don't see people actively asserting or believing Barack is a muslim in the media (i don't watch fox much though).

Keep it up though. Your outrage certainly won't hurt his campaign.

What suspicions about Obama tickles the back of Pat's brain?

Like what, Pat? I'm pissed (but not surprised) Obama voted for the FISA compromise. Happy?

He went to school in Indonesia as a six year old? STFW.

B, it's charming that you think because these rumors are idiotic that they aren't getting cranked out non-stop by the GOP propaganda mill. Why do you think Obama ratcheted up his fact-check page to become Fight the Smears?

Why do you think his volunteers were nervous about seating Muslim women behind him during a rally?

This is why.

Like what, Pat? I'm pissed (but not surprised) Obama voted for the FISA compromise. Happy?

Posted by: Lucy on June 22, 2008 at 10:15 PM | PERMALINK

Awww. Why just a few months ago you crazy kids seemed so darn happy together! I clearly remember you doodling "Mrs. Lucy Obama" on your notebook in violet ink. Pace yourself. At this rate, you'll fall out of L-U-V with Senator Dreamy before he even takes the oath! Change!

Um, favors the compromise.

Sorry for the sloppy.

Hmm. I'm confused, Lucy. Why did you change the word "voted" to the word "favored?" Hopie voted didn't he??

OK, so I think Obama will vote for it stripped or no.

Happy?

Why do you have to be such a dick. You always imputed all kinds of BS to me--I guess any Obama supporter would do.

Ah, I'm just teasing. I like ya. I'm voting for Barry too, now that every other Democrat is out.

It's just the cult-like 0enthusiasm of some Obama people that brings out the worst kind of smartass in me. For example, I've had two Obama people door knock me this week. One said that they were looking for a donation of $100. I said I supported Obama, but that was too much for my budget. Then he piped in, "well a lot of your neighbors are giving $50 --- one for every state!" I said, that's still a little much for me. So he chirped brightly, "Well, some of your neighbors are giving $20.08, for the year 2008!"

At this point I volunteered to give her one dollar for every year Obama has worked in the Senate and one for each of the laws he has enacted. I then asked just as sunnily how exactly did she want her $3.00, in bills or coins?

What big teeth you have!