Barack Obama's recently unveiled plan for providing federal funds to social services run by religious organizations is an eager nod to evangelical churches--a faithful anchor of the GOP's support base.
But Obama's recent Christian courtships smack to some as shrewd political posturing as he distances himself from other communities that are less friendly with the political establishment. Obama has struggled to cut off connections to his controversial former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. His campaign is waging a PR war to counter false rumors that he is a Muslim. He ran into some political fallout when two Muslim women wearing headscarves were not allowed to sit near him at an event in Detroit, presumably so they wouldn't be photographed in the same frame.
Maybe Obama needs a different kind of photo op?
New York Times columnist Roger Cohen has suggested that a campaign stop at a mosque would demonstrate his worldliness and his ability "to break the monolithic, alienating view of a great world religion that is as multifaceted as Judaism or Christianity."
Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts also suggested a mosque visit would lend Obama some political credibility. While the candidate has apologized for the Detroit snubbing, Pitts said,
"It would be easier to take the apology seriously, though, if: a) somewhere in the last year of manifold denials that he is a Muslim, Obama had found the time, space or guts to point out that there's nothing wrong with being a Muslim, particularly in a nation that enshrined religious freedom in its founding documents; b) he hadn't spent so much time treating the American Muslim community as one does the carrier of a contagious disease."
In an op-ed in today's Detroit Free Press, Emily Hauser warned that Obama's damage control over the headscarves and other political contraband might be feeding into bigotry:
"there's something noxious in all this -- as if Obama isn't proudly declaring his own faith, but running as fast as he can from the other."
Yet even the most expert public imaging might not translate into a sustained policy approach, especially for international observers of the presidential race.
If the Senator from Illinois is something of an enigma to American voters, he holds a similar enchantment for many Muslims and Arabs abroad, embodying ambiguous hope--not so much for lower gas prices, but rather, a less combative US foreign policy on issues tied to Islam and the Middle East.
In the Daily News Egypt, an English-language outlet, Mohamed Elmenshawy of the World Security Institute in Washington, D.C noted:
"Millions of Muslims who might otherwise have taken an indifferent view toward US politics are enthusiastically tuning into the elections to watch a black man with Muslim heritage compete to become president of the United States."
But, echoing homegrown criticism of the candidate, Elmenshawy said the Arab world might see Obama's sheen quickly fade after the campaign honeymoon.
"Wishful Arabs should modify their expectations. Aside from his early rejection of the Iraq War, his actions have never indicated a dramatic departure from American political norms. Obama’s candidacy carries heavy symbolic value, but little hope for real change in American foreign policy in the Middle East."
Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images
Comments (9)
Why won't Barack Obama produce a birth certicate if he indeed was born in Hawaii?
Think long and hard about this when voting for president of this United States of ours.
I myself am sure he is a pathalocal liar so knowing this I am sure he is a Muslim in his heart.
Think hard why do Muslims want him to win the election so badly?
Why does he continue to lie about things that can be proven are lies? Pictures speak a thousand words.
WAKE UP AMERICA! IF HE IS AN AMERICAN WHY WON'T HE PUT HIS HAND OVER HIS HEART DURING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM?
BECAUSE HE IS NOT AN AMERICAN!
HE IS NOT EVEN A GOOD LIER!
hand goes over your heart for the pledge not the anthem.
You're just another crazy right-wing bigot
...or a good speller...
Hey Patriot:
Every public function I have ever attended, from a baseball game to a college commencement, where the National Anthem is played, everybody has their hands over their heart. That includes every ballplayer and everyone in the audience.
What Nancy is referring to is a photograph published in Time Magazine on October 1, 2007 that shows Obama, Hillary Clinton and Bill Richardson with their hands over their heart during the playing of the National Anthem, but not Obama.
Please see the following:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/anthem.asp
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mark-finkelstein/2007/10/20/obama-no-hand-heart-pledge-either-will-msm-notice
Furthermore, United States code, Title 36, Chapter 10, Sec. 171 states:
"During rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform should stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. Men not in uniform should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in uniform should render the military salute at the first note of the anthem and retain this position until the last note. When the flag is not displayed, those present should face toward the music and act in the same manner they would if the flag were displayed there."
So Patriot, I have two suggestions for you:
1) Get your facts straight, unless your goal is to prove to the world just how stupid you really are.
2) Move somewhere else. Try Cuba. You are obviously a typical uninformed left wing douchebag that is against someone else's free speech (in this case Nancy's) and you tie your ultra liberal radical anti-conservative rant with lies and falsehoods.
You are obviously both stupid and you are certainly not a patriot.
While Nancy's comments may be a bit extreme, she raises valid points. I recommend that everyone question why Obama did not wear a lapel pin, stay a member of a church run by a radical nut, befriend a known 1960's terrorist, and refuse to place his hand over his heart during the playing of our National Anthem. These are legimate questions to be asked of any American, expecially one running for President.
how do we know that John McCain wasn't brainwashed while a POW???
Hasnt everyone seen the manchurian candidate? It must be true, obviously or else it wouldnt be mentioned.
Talk about pathetic whining by the right wing nut jobs....
tell me- is there anything that would convince you people that Obama is not a mUslim? If so, please tell us. If not, it pretty much sums up the idiot think.
Does anyone know what religon Obama was before he FOUND Christianity 20 years ago?
Schoolboys punished with detention for refusing to kneel in class and pray to Allah
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:30 AM on 04th July 2008
Two schoolboys were given detention after refusing to kneel down and 'pray to Allah' during a religious education lesson.
Parents were outraged that the two boys from year seven (11 to 12-year-olds) were punished for not wanting to take part in the practical demonstration of how Allah is worshipped.
They said forcing their children to take part in the exercise at Alsager High School, near Stoke-on-Trent - which included wearing Muslim headgear - was a breach of their human rights.
Alsager School, near Stoke, has received furious complaints from parents after two Year 7 boys were punished for refusing to kneel to Allah during a religious studies class
One parent, Sharon Luinen, said: "This isn't right, it's taking things too far.
This item from today's Mail Online from England may prove true here come Election Day: Two schoolboys were given detention after refusing to kneel down and 'pray to Allah' during a religious education lesson.
Parents were outraged that the two boys from year seven (11 to 12-year-olds) were punished for not wanting to take part in the practical demonstration of how Allah is worshipped.
They said forcing their children to take part in the exercise at Alsager High School, near Stoke-on-Trent - which included wearing Muslim headgear - was a breach of their human rights.
hmmm. I have found myself clutching my heart during the national anthem. No secret, many Americans -- left-right, red-blue, nasty-nice -- can't sing it right. It's something we all share.