Reply #54: Hillary did a great job dealing with this dumb question.

[Apollo11]

SHAME ON YOU, Steve Kroft, for asking Hillary about Obama's religious beliefs.

AND SHAME ON YOU, Obama supporters, for accusing Hillary of trying to gain some kind of political advantage by supposedly encouraging voters to be fearful of the possibility that Obama might be a Muslim.

PLUS PROPS to Hillary for dealing with this question with clarity and truthfulness! B-)


Hillary Clinton on CBS - 60 Minutes - March 2nd, 2008 (my transcript)

KROFT: You don't believe that Senator Obama's a Muslim?

HILLARY: Of course not. I mean that's, you know, there is no basis for that. You know, I take him on the basis of what he says. And, you know, there isn't any reason to doubt that.

KROFT: You said you take Senator Obama at his word that he's not a Muslim.

HILLARY: Right. Right.

KROFT: You don't believe that he's a Muslim?

HILLARY: No. No. Why would I? There's no ... No. There's nothing to base that on - as far as I know.

KROFT: It's just scurillous ...

HILLARY: Look, I have been the target of so many ridiculous rumours. I have a great deal of sympathy for anyone who gets, you know, smeared by the kind of rumours that go on all the time.


You can see the whole video here:
www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=3897988n

The part about Obama's religion is all in the final 3 minutes.

Hillary's answer is very clear and absolutely truthful.

The problem with this whole discussion is that it confirms and underlines the widely-held prejudice that there is something wrong with being a Muslim.

As if being a Muslim would somehow make a person "less American" than a Christian or a Jew or an Agnostic or an Atheist/Humanist/Rationalist.

If you ask, me, I think Hillary should have said "Well, as far as I know, Senator Obama is not a Muslim. Not that there's anything wrong with that!" B-)