More on the Obama/Muslim Rumor

In the wake of a poll showing that a quarter of the country thinks that President Obama might secretly be a Muslim, the press has been looking for causes. In many ways they are adding to the controversy. Just by reporting on it, they are spreading the idea to people who might not have heard it in the first place.

A frequent target of blame is the Republican Party. The quote, "I take the president at his word" by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, is often cited as a secret code. What is totally overlooked is the role that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton played in this. Back when she was running against Obama, 60 Minutes had this exchange:

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

HILLARY CLINTON: Of course not. I mean that's, you know, that, 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 Sen. Obama at his word that he's not a Muslim...

CLINTON: Right, right..

KROFT: …you don't believe that he's a Muslim.

CLINTON: No! No! Why would I? There's nothing to base that on. As far as I know.

Note the similarities with McConnell's statement. Obama supporters were outraged at the time but that seems to have been forgotten.

More important, the Clinton campaign was likely the originator of the entire secret Muslim theory in the first place. They likely sent this email out in December of 2007.

"Obama's parents met at the University of Hawaii . When Obama was two years old, his parents divorced. His father returned to Kenya . His mother then married Lolo Soetoro, a RADICAL Muslim from Indonesia . When Obama was 6 years old, the family relocated to Indonesia . Obama attended a MUSLIM school in Jakarta."

[...]

"Since it is politically expedient to be a CHRISTIAN when seeking major public office in the United States , Barack Hussein Obama has joined the United Church of Christ in an attempt to downplay his Muslim background."

Somehow the press has completely forgotten that the secret Muslim smears originated within Obama's own party, not the Republicans or the talk shows.

For the record, Lolo Soetoro was a moderate, and the Muslim equivalent of a "Christmas and Easter Christian" and he attended a public school in Jakarta although he was registered as a Muslim. This leads to another way that the press stokes the controversy. Most of the people writing about it are Obama supporters and know that he is not a secret Muslim. They are trying to convince people that there is nothing to the story so they scrub the details. Look at this article from Newsweek by Sharon Begley and note how it takes McConnell to task:

Somehow McConnell couldn't bring himself to state the truth that the guy went to a Christian church in Chicago, was married in a Christian ceremony, is raising his daughters as Christians, and is a practicing Christian.

Somehow Begley cannot bring herself to mention that Obama was raised by Atheists and Muslims. People know this. When the press hides details it gives the impression that they are covering something up. That just feeds the rumor-mill.

Blaming the Republicans for a rumor started by the Democrats alienates them for no good reason (except to demonize the opposition).