Presidential Candidate Smeared
The Right wing magazine Insight has claimed entirely on unamed (I.E. nonexistant) sources that one of the leading Democratic Candidates, Barak Obama is keeping a secret about his past.
That he was raised as a Muslim and schooled for four years in an Indonesian Madrassa, even suggesting that he
“He was a Muslim, but he concealed it,”
and
the young Obama was given the name Hussein by his Muslim father
Killing two birds with one stone, the smear was claimed to have come from the other lead Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, also without sources.
After a number of major (conservative) news networks put it on, a few “corrections were made”. Said the Co-Host of “Fox and Friends”
We’re just being fair
.
Some are even going so far as to suggest he is some kind of Manchurian Candidate of radical Islam.
CNN easily debunked all of this of course, I wish this had been a joke, but it wasn’t. The idea that somebody would fabricate a rumour of this kind is revolting, so too is the regretable fact that claiming him to be Muslim is in itself considered enough to derail a campaign.
What a world………
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I attended a few madrassas for about 12 years of my life. They were medium sized elementary, middle, and high schools in southern California.
Well they have a very bad reputation here, especially the ones in far away Muslim countries.
That missile strike on that madrassa in Pakistan is representative of the fears that are held of such places.
So the smearing has already started. I knew it was just a matter of time before rival candidates and just about anyone who doesn’t like Barak would start digging up on his past. Just this story about him attending a madrassa in Indonesia at some time in his life is enough to cast a huge shadow on his chances.
I just hope the American public can see beyond this and choose their candidates not for what they might or might not have done in their past…but for what they can do for the nation in the future. For all I know, USA needs a president, be it male or female, who can fix this screwed up foreign policy and can patch up differences with the global Muslim community.
“Allegations that Sen. Barack Obama was educated in a radical Muslim school known as a “madrassa” are not accurate, according to CNN reporting.”
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/22/obama.madrassa/index.html
Even though they they sent a reporter to Indonesia to debunk the story, many Americans will still be wary of the association unfortunately.
I know…and that’s the sad part. Once the people are provided with such negative material; their perception of the person in question will forever be tainted, regardless of the material’s accuracy.
Thanks for….repeating that Melissa.
It’s generally said that allegations recieve more attention than corrections (although that’s usually regarding things in print).
I don’t think the good ole U.S.A. is progressive enough to elect a black president or a women, let alone what they perceive to be a Muslim. I hope that I am wrong.
Sorry Joel, I am trying to work and read at the same time.