So there's this email circulating...

I think it started about the time of the Iowa caucus, and it says all manner of things about Barack Obama being Muslim among other things. It seems so ridiculous to me, but people actually believe this. They read it in an email, so it must be true. When I watch Washington Journal on C-Span in the mornings, people call in every day and recite this email as if it's fact. I'm constantly amazed at how many people believe this. I've mentioned it to some Obama supporters (I am not one, by the way) and they seem unconcerned about it. I don't know if they realize how many people are buying into this.

When you think about it, it's quite a clever smear campaign. There was a member of Congress sworn in on the Koran last year, so it's pretty smart considering most of the country suffers from mediamnesia. So when these people call in to the TV shows or the radio shows they insist that it's true. They argue: "No! I remember hearing about it!" Yes, Mrs. Simpleton, you heard about a member of Congress, but it was not Barack Obama. It was Keith Ellison. The guy who called the cops on his neighboring office member Tom Tancredo shortly after said swear-in. There's just enough in the email to jog the feeble memory of the voters in this country. It's a dirty trick, but it's pretty smart.

So, this has been annoying me for quite some time because no matter how many times it's refuted, people are constantly in a panic about Obama being a Muslim. For one thing, it just perpetuates the belief that every Muslim is a terrorist and not to be trusted. For another thing, it's just dumb to think that someone with a funny name must be an America-hating-terrorist-liberal. I don't know where it started, but I never believed it was something from the Clinton campaign. Not until last night, anyway.

On 60 Minutes, a panel of Ohio voters were interviewed by Steve Kroft and one man said he liked Obama but he had concerns because Obama was Muslim and wouldn't say the national anthem. They then went to a clip of an interview with Hillary Clinton where Kroft asked her if she believed Obama was a Muslim. I expected her to denounce the rumor. Instead, I heard her say, "I take him at the basis of what he says" and "There's nothing to base that on... as far as I know." Video here

As far as I know?!? AS FAR AS I KNOW?!? Are you kidding me?? There's nothing to base that on period. Considering all of the times she's said she's proud to be standing next to Senator Obama and put forth all the niceties during the debates, I can't believe she didn't take this opportunity to reinforce this positive message in her campaign. Instead, she gave the impression that she's actually fine with people believing that. I'm not fine with people believing that, and I don't exactly have the Obama fever that's going around. I just think it's ignorant. Watching her response to that question, it was clear to me that she's not going to refute the rumors because it helps her little "Who do you want to answer the phone?" campaign if people think Barack Hussein Obama is an America-hating Muslim. Ick, Senator Clinton. Just Ick.