Obama Describes Faith Amid False Rumors

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT/AP: Obama Describes Faith Amid False Rumors
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: December 16, 2007

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) -- Democrat Barack Obama on Sunday confronted one of the persistent falsehoods circulating about him on the Internet. He went to church. His attendance here at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, with the news media in tow, was as much an observation of faith as it was a rejoinder to baseless e-mailed rumors that he is a Muslim and poses a threat to the security of the United States.

Obama did not address the rumors, but described how he joined Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago two decades ago while working as a community organizer. ''What I found during the course of this work was, one, that ordinary people can do extraordinary things when they come together and find common ground,'' he told the congregation. ''The other thing I discovered was that values of honesty, hard work, empathy, compassion were values that were spoken about in church .... I realized that Scripture and the words of God fit into the values I was raised in.''

Obama regularly attends church while on the campaign trail, but seldom with reporters watching. He is known to invoke religious references in his speeches and has said he has a ''personal relationship'' with Jesus Christ. He often has said that religion has a place in public life and that faith and politics are not exclusively the domain of conservatives. ''During this holiday season and during this political season I'm continually reminded that the values that I learned at Trinity and as part of the UCC community are values that can't just stay in church but have to be applied outside of church,'' he said.

Obama staffers and volunteers say they periodically encounter voters who say they cannot support Obama because they've heard he is Muslim, a claim that has been making its way through Internet sites and blogs since he announced his candidacy for president. The issue gained prominence earlier this month when Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign forced the resignation of two Iowa volunteer coordinators who had forwarded e-mails that falsely tried to tie him to Islamic jihadists.

The Illinois Democrat -- whose middle name is ''Hussein'' -- was born in Hawaii and moved to Indonesia at age 6 to live with his mother and stepfather, who was Muslim. He left Indonesia when he was 10 and returned to Hawaii to live with his mother's parents....

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Obama.html

[ulysses]

1. I hope to live to see the day

when a candidate's religion, or lack thereof, is irrelevant in a campaign.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Amen to that.

[Pirate Smile]

3. "Obama's background re-emerged Sunday when former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey, who had just endorsed

Clinton, referred to Obama's Muslim side of the family in an interview with The Washington Post. The remarks were part of a generally complimentary assessment of Obama.

"It's probably not something that appeals to him, but I like the fact that his name is Barack Hussein Obama, and that his father was a Muslim and that his paternal grandmother is a Muslim. There's a billion people on the planet that are Muslims and I think that experience is a big deal.'' Kerrey added, ''He's got a whale of a lot more intellectual talent than I've got as well."'

[ClarkUSA]

4. Gee, how swell of a Clinton surrogate to bring up Obama's Muslim family connection again

Can Hillary be far behind?

[K Gardner]

5. Wow.. coincidence? Accident? I think not. Sheesh. n/t

[jefferson_dem]

6. It never ends with the low-brow politics of the Hillary camp.

Besides, I'm a little troubled by Kerrey's illiterate statement that "(t)here's a billion people...," especially since he's supposedly a schoolmaster and all.

[Robeson]

13. Kerrey is helping to "vett" what he may face in the general. It's really just another....

...example of supporters of other candidates doing Obama a great favor, because they genuinely care about him so much......

[DrFunkenstein]

7. Kerry Was Swiftboated By A Long-Coming Attack

It was a ridiculous failure on the part of his campaign - and himself - to be inadequately prepared for this group.

Those attacks could have been easily negated. These rumors are much, much, much easier to deal with.

I'm down with Obama taking on Osama. Someone should do it after 7 years.

[DeepModem Mom]

9. "I'm down with Obama taking on Osama. Someone should do it after 7 years."

Interesting!

[SaveElmer]

8. The fact that he belongs to the UCC...

Belies any claim of him being a fundie, or a Muslim, or other some such nonsense...

Of course the UCC is one of the most liberal mainline denominations in existence...

Some of the other notable right wingers that belong(ed) to the UCC are...

William Sloane Coffin
Howard Dean
Julian Bond
John Corzine
Andrew Young

and

Barry Lynn - President of American's United for the Separation of Church and State...

The lay of the land is that the public expects some demonstration of faith...it sucks...but there it is...and I for one am not going to risk 4 more years of Republican rule on the correct notion that ones religion makes no difference in relation to fitness for office...

There is alot to criticize Obama about...but his religion isn't one of them!


I know this isn't directly related to the rumors of him being a Muslim...but thought I would wrap my reaction around all of the different avenues of criticism related to him and his religious views.

[DeepModem Mom]

10. Thanks for this info, SaveElmer! nt

[Adelante]

11. Barry Lynn - President of American's United for the Separation of Church and State...

That's a good one. Thanks for the post, Elmer.

[tammywammy]

12. Good post Elmer