WP,pg1: Foes Use Obama's Muslim Ties to Fuel Rumors About Him

Foes Use Obama's Muslim Ties to Fuel Rumors About Him
By Perry Bacon Jr.
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 29, 2007; Page A01

In his speeches and often on the Internet, the part of Sen. Barack Obama's biography that gets the most attention is not his race but his connections to the Muslim world.

Since declaring his candidacy for president in February, Obama, a member of a congregation of the United Church of Christ in Chicago, has had to address assertions that he is a Muslim or that he had received training in Islam in Indonesia, where he lived from ages 6 to 10. While his father was an atheist and his mother did not practice religion, Obama's stepfather did occasionally attend services at a mosque there.

Despite his denials, rumors and e-mails circulating on the Internet continue to allege that Obama (D-Ill.) is a Muslim, a "Muslim plant" in a conspiracy against America, and that, if elected president, he would take the oath of office using a Koran, rather than a Bible, as did Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the only Muslim in Congress, when he was sworn in earlier this year.

In campaign appearances, Obama regularly mentions his time living and attending school in Indonesia, and the fact that his paternal grandfather, a Kenyan farmer, was a Muslim. Obama invokes these facts as part of his case that he is prepared to handle foreign policy, despite having been in the Senate for only three years, and that he would literally bring a new face to parts of the world where the United States is not popular....

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Obama aides sharply disputed the initial stories suggesting that he was a Muslim, and in Iowa, the campaign keeps a letter at its offices, signed by five members of the local clergy, vouching for the candidate's Christian faith....

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A CBS News poll in August showed that a huge number of voters said they did not know Obama's faith, but among those who said they did, 7 percent thought he was a Muslim, while only 6 percent thought he was a Protestant Christian....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/28/AR2007112802757_2.html

and see what others here think. Thanks so much for posting the Kos piece.

I had seen the Daily Kos post this morning - it was front paged on DK. I know Talking Points Memo also had something.

It is a strange article. They just talk about the rumors and don't really mention that they have been debunked. They just say Obama denied it but don't add that others have investigated and found them to be smears as well.

Effin Media Heathers.

Someone lies about you. You deny it. The press "wisely" assumes the truth must be in the middle.

That is just what they did with Kerry and the swift-boaters... telling both sides of a story with only one side.

Or "republicans"?

is reporting on this bullshit?

I think exactly the same tactic that is used against Fox. The position should be it is not a reputable news organization, list examples not germain to the discussion and move on. Conservative arrogantly got away with the technique on the Dan Rather AWOL memo. The memo was fake, everything else can't be true. We have much more ammo but discussing the details allows them to continue the spin.