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| Obama sets up internet 'war room' to fight slurs |
| 2008-06-10 |
| I sense a challenge . . . . :-) A crack team of cybernauts will form a rapid response internet “war room” to track and respond aggressively to online rumours that Barack Obama is unpatriotic and a Muslim. As he gears up for his general election fight against John McCain, Mr Obama and his chief advisers are aware of the danger of such rumours, amid polling data showing that a significant number of Americans believe he is a Muslim or are suspicious about his background. Such doubts were a factor in his poor showing with white, blue-collar voters during his primary battle with Hillary Clinton. In recent days Mr Obama has — unprompted — brought up the subject of the chain e-mails and blog sites making the false claims. Some state that he is a radical Muslim who was sworn in as a US senator on the Koran; others that he sympathises with Palestinian radicals. Many focus on his middle name of Hussein, which was taken from his Kenyan father. Mr Obama referred to the e-mails in a speech last week to AIPAC, the powerful Jewish lobby. Mr Obama said: “They are filled with tall tales and dire warnings about a certain candidate for president and all I want to say is, ‘Let me know if you see this guy named Barack Obama because he sounds pretty scary’.” Jen Psaki, a spokeswomen for Mr Obama, told The Times that the internet team was still being finalised. She added: “The only way to run a campaign is to respond immediately when inaccurate information is put out. The [the e-mails] are saying he’s a Muslim. He’s not. “He’s a Christian. He often brings up the e-mails that are out there and the smear campaign that’s been run against him on the internet.” The “war room” comes as the Obama campaign prepares a series of biographical speeches, television advertisements and campaign appearances to tell his life story, an attempt to make voters more familiar with him. Despite his long nomination fight against Mrs Clinton, his campaign aides concede that millions of Americans still feel that they do not really know him. Mr Obama’s Kenyan father, who left the family when he was 2, was a Muslim, but not particularly religious. The Illinois senator lived in Indonesia from the age of 6 until 10 with his white, American mother and Indonesian stepfather, who was a Muslim. Mr Obama has never been a Muslim, or worshipped at a mosque. He moved from being agnostic to finding Christ in his 20s, with the help of his former Chicago pastor: the Rev Jeremiah Wright, a figure whose incendiary sermons now haunt his candidacy and has increased suspicions among some voters about his patriotism. A poll in mid-March found that 13 per cent of Americans think that Mr Obama is a Muslim — a 5 per cent increase since December 2007. Another found that 23 per cent of Democrats who hold negative views of him believe that he is a Muslim. The same survey showed that 61 per cent of voters view him as patriotic, compared with 76 per cent for Mrs Clinton and 90 per cent for Mr McCain. Senior aides to Mr Obama have opened talks with the Clinton camp to discuss pooling their formidable fundraising talent. Between them the two Democrats raised nearly $500 million (£254 million) during their nomination fight. David Plouffe, Mr Obama’s campaign manager, is due to give a presentation to some of Mrs Clinton’s top fundraisers in New York on Thursday. In recent weeks Mr Obama has also pinned an American flag badge to his suit lapel after being criticised by Republicans for not wearing one. He locked horns with Mr McCain yesterday over the faltering economy, the number one issue with voters, as the Democrat started a 17-day economics tour with a speech in North Carolina lambasting the Republican over his support for the fiscal policies of President Bush. The Arizona senator pre-empted his rival’s address by painting him as a liberal tax-and-spender. |
| Posted by:gorb |
| #23 In recent weeks Mr Obama has also pinned an American flag badge to his suit lapel after being criticised by Republicans for not wearing one. Would that be the green, black and red flag? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-06-10 20:08 |
| #22 Abu, Obamessiah is such an arrogant ass that he woudl beleive that HIS aura will rub off on the Jesus people. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-06-10 19:53 |
| #21 I wonder where |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2008-06-10 17:26 |
| #20 About time for a strong endorsement for Obama by Keith Ellison, the muslim from minnesota. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2008-06-10 16:57 |
| #19 Cybernaut sounds a bit too..soviet. Would Kommentare be more appropriate? |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2008-06-10 15:16 |
| #18 I'd be willing to bet this "Joyce" was strikingly pretty.... |
| Posted by: BigEd 2008-06-10 13:32 |
| #17 So where is this clowns birth certificate and why don't the Obamatons release it. |
| Posted by: Icerigger 2008-06-10 12:43 |
| #16 "I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction." While the gist of the quote correct, muslim is implied, not stated in the real passage. Snopes In the wake of 9/11, my meetings with Arab and Pakistani Americans, for example, have a more urgent quality, for the stories of detentions and FBI questioning and hard stares from neighbors have shaken their sense of security and belonging. They have been reminded that the history of immigration in this country has a dark underbelly; they need specific reassurances that their citizenship really means something, that America has learned the right lessons from the Japanese internments during World War II, and that I will stand with them should the political winds shift in an ugly direction. More at the SNopes link. Like: She was a good-looking woman, Joyce was with her green eyes and honey skin and pouty lips. We lived in the same dorm my freshman year, and all the brothers were after her. One day I asked her if she was going to the Black Students' Association meeting. She looked at me funny, then started shaking her head like a baby who doesn't want what it sees on the spoon. "I'm not black," Joyce said. "I'm multiracial." Then she started telling me about her father, who happened to be Italian and was the sweetest man in the world; and her mother, who happened to be part African and part French and part Native American and part something else. "Why should I have to choose between them?" she asked me. Her voice cracked, and I thought she was going to cry. "It's not white people who are making me choose. Maybe it used to be that way, but now they're willing to treat me like a person. No — it's black people who always have to make everything racial. They're the ones making me choose. They're the ones who are telling me that I can't be who I am ..." They, they, they. That was the problem with people like Joyce. They talked about the richness of their multicultural heritage and it sounded real good, until you noticed that they avoided black people |
| Posted by: ed 2008-06-10 12:34 |
| #15 Not fair Unusoter! You are quoting his own words back to him. That isn't allowed against Democrats. What the f-k is a cybernauts? It'll be hard to rebuke the FACT that he is unpatriotic. Just look at his minister of 20 years. Just look at his wife! His close friend and supporter is a unrepentant TERRORIST. Sorry but Obama is unpatriotic and yes - I have every right to question his patriotism. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2008-06-10 11:18 |
| #14 "I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction." Audacity of Hope (2006) by Barack Obama |
| Posted by: Unusoter Black5937 2008-06-10 10:11 |
| #13 Hate to be pedantic, but I don't believe Wiki's claim that Odinga is Anglican. From the first item of the secret memorandum: This MOU states as follows: WHEREAS The Candidate - who recognizes Islam as the only true religion - is seeking to become the next President of the Republic of Kenya; More Here is a summary on the agreement which was signed: * It pledges the support of Kenyan Moslems for RailaÂ’s election. In return, as President of Kenya, Raila agrees to 14 actions, listed a) through n) on page two. * Within 6 months re-write the Constitution of Kenya to recognize Shariah as the only true law sanctioned by the Holy Quran for Muslim declared regions. * Within one year facilitate the establishment of a Shariah court in every Kenyan divisional headquarters. [Note: everywhere in Kenya, not just in "Muslim declared regions."] * Popularize Islam, the only true religionÂ… by ordering every primary school in Kenya in the regions to conduct daily Madrassa classes. * Impose a total ban on open-air gospel crusades by worshippers of the crossÂ… * Outlaw gospel programsÂ… on KBC, the National Broadcaster. * Impose a total ban on the public consumption of alcoholic beveragesÂ… * Impose an immediate ban on womenÂ’s public dressing styles that are considered immoral and offensive to the Muslim faithÂ… |
| Posted by: ed 2008-06-10 10:08 |
| #12 Would that be his cousin Raila Odinga, the current prime minister of Kenya and radical muslim? Ed, this is from Wiki "Raila Odinga is married to Ida Odinga (born Ida Anyango Oyoo). They have four children - two sons and two daughters. His oldest son, Fidel, is named after Fidel Castro.[23] Their youngest child, Winnie, is named after Winnie Mandela.[23] Raila lives in Nairobi but has a second home in Bondo District. Raila Odinga is an Anglican.[24] Odinga claims to be a cousin of American Senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama through the latter's father, Barack Obama Sr., who Odinga claims was his maternal uncle.[25] This claim has not been corroborated, but Obama Sr. did come from the same Luo tribe as Odinga.[25]" |
| Posted by: tipper 2008-06-10 10:01 |
| #11 Wikipedia say Odina is not muslim, but Anglican and a socialist. He received a scholarship that in 1965 sent him to the Technical University, Magdeburg (now a part of Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg) in East Germany. In 1970, he graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Raila was placed under house arrest for seven months after being suspected of collaborating with the plotters of a failed coup attempt against President Daniel Arap Moi in 1982. According his website, Raila lists himself as a social democrat,[19] thus distancing himself from his late father, who was openly socialist. His party, the LDP, is affiliated to the Liberal International. |
| Posted by: ed 2008-06-10 09:58 |
| #10 President Apostate? |
| Posted by: tipper 2008-06-10 09:45 |
| #9 His cousin in the European media was quoted as saying that once Barak Obama is a muslim he always will be a muslim and that barak Obama can pretend to be Christian but he will always be muslim. Would that be his cousin Raila Odinga, the current prime minister of Kenya and radical muslim? He signed a secret agreement with muslim clerics allied with Islamic Jihad to institute sharia in Kenya. I recommend those who haven't to go read it. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN HON. RAILA AMOLO ODINGA REPRESENTING HE ORANGE DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT (ODM) AND NATIONAL MUSLIM LEADERS FORUM (NAMLEF) |
| Posted by: ed 2008-06-10 09:42 |
| #8 Ok, I add this to the pile: Obama is a empty suit and completely naive and dangerously lacking in the intelligence and experience necessary to be a world leader. Debunk that, dipshits. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2008-06-10 09:27 |
| #7 If he - at long last - released his birth certificate, then one source of speculation would be dampened. |
| Posted by: McZoid 2008-06-10 09:12 |
| #6 What's this? A Muslim you say? |
| Posted by: Enver Crish7054 2008-06-10 09:02 |
| #5 In other words Obama is setting up a 'Ministry of Truth'. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2008-06-10 08:39 |
| #4 he sympathises with Palestinian radicals That much, at least, is true. |
| Posted by: Spot 2008-06-10 08:05 |
| #3 Does this mean more official Obama website pages are going to end up in the internet archive files after their |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-06-10 07:43 |
| #2 One of the blogs they are talking about. http://caosblog.com/7071 It has this comment which referred to a little puzzle that caught my attention - why when visiting his relatives did he dress in an ethnic Somali costume. I am very familiar with the Somalis and that is a clerics garb. I also heard from European media that his first cousin is a muslim cleric. Given the tribal nature of African muslim society that makes BarakÂ…regardless of what he saysÂ…a muslim iman. It is very similar to how being a rabbi is passed down in family lines. His cousin in the European media was quoted as saying that once Barak Obama is a muslim he always will be a muslim and that barak Obama can pretend to be Christian but he will always be muslim. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2008-06-10 07:10 |
| #1 oh gag. You know what this means.... suddenly we will get the equivalent of "seminar callers" on internet forums such as this one. Typical post: "Yes Sninert Black, I completely agree with your highly intelligent assessment, but I would like to point out that My Candidate is GOD and only a stupid moron, such as yourself, would be incapable of seeing that." |
| Posted by: Sninert Black9312 2008-06-10 04:11 |