This is my one concern about Obama... he's letting himself get swiftboated like Kerry and just completely ignoring it.  Why?  Doesn't he remember recent history?  Why does he think this will just "go away"?  It won't!  It will just keep on snowballing...

Obama has a fact-check page that debunks the Muslim rumors pretty thoroughly.

Usually we talk about Google-bombing in the context of framing the opposing candidate, but given the pervasity of these rumors, I wonder if this isn't the Google-bomb Obama supporters should be trying to organize.

Also, I wonder if "pervasity" is a word.

a few percent of the vote, no matter what he does about it. I have heard people rant about him being a Muslim, and pointing out simple facts does no good with these idiots.

The solution for Obama will be to compensate for the bigots by increasing turnout among the groups that support him.

Given the brutal history of the Christian faith and the people who practice it, you would think it would be more embarrassing to admit to being a Christian than to reveal that you're a Muslim.

Are we blaming this one on HIllary too?  Come on guys, this is REALLY beginning to look pathetic.  Want to blame John Kerry's Swiftboating on her too?  I mean, after all, she must've thought that if he were to be elected, it may hurt her chances of getting the election this year- so I'm sure the Clintons had something to do with it...
Let's put all the violins away and start finding ways to toughen up our candidates.  

I think Obama has dealt with this quite effectively-

and if it weren't the muslim thing it'd be something else they would dig up and make into an issue.  

Anyone who thinks Hillary will fare any better is mistaken-  they are saving their rehash of Hillary Bashing for if she gets the nomination.

Or so I read on the internet.  Google "Hillary" and "Vince Foster" and see what deluded conspiracy theories come up.  This page is first on the list:

http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/RANCHO /POLITICS/FOSTER_COVERUP/foster.html

The fact is that elements of the right-wing will stoop to no level to engage in character assassination, and that both of these candidates are vulnerable to such attacks.  The conclusion?  We shouldn't choose a nominee based upon fear of illogical and outrageous attacks.

Just wanted to say that the word Semitic is synonymous with Jewish, Yiddish, Hebrew, etc.

Natasha, honestly, I think you should change the title of this post. Not suggesting I disagree substantively with what you wrote, but the question mark implies that there's a question as to Obama's religious beliefs. There is no question, of course, but this site has a relatively high Google ranking and passive searchers could come across this post and be misled.

I'm generally not in favor of thought policing, but if there is anything that can get one banned from this site, surely specious accusations of murder against prominent Democrats, including our last president, is such an offense.

Yes, this is potentially a problem, and we should be concerned too about wishing away those rumors that  Hillary Clinton is a lesbian, which she says she's not (Hillary-lesbian is a fairly popular Google search). As far as we know. The latest crazy one: she is having an affair with her MUSLIM aide-de-camp, a woman. If it's true (which I'm sure it's not, as she says it's not), will it be more harmful to have a closeted Muslim-loving lesbian, or just a closeted Muslim as our candidate?

What is the point of this blog? That right-wing crazies blog too? To make sure that we keep this stupidity alive? MyDD, please stop the madness.

This site's moderators need to crack down on these smear diaries that have repeatedly popped up on this site, even getting recommended at times.  Now I've seen a deletion or two, but it still continues to happen, and there are still posters (including some very frequently recommended ones) spreading this lie and variations of it here.  

Yes, I feel so Drudge-like for enabling people to find the Obama campaign's refutatation of this lie, pointing them to a picture of George Bush holding hands with a Saudi prince and a debunking of Fox News' madrassah lies. How I can live with myself, I just don't know.

I don't get what the point or purpose was for this post. Not well thought out nor elegantly written. Someone not paying attention or being cynical might see an argument against Obama solely because of some people's shortcomings...

Did McCain Single-Handedly Lose Vietnam??1?!one?

I hope you're not suggesting we become that which we despise.

that Hillary Clinton is really a large carp?  Not that I believe it, but people are talking.  They've been covering it up with tricky camera work, like the "moon landing," they tell me.  

If I were her I'd be worried that the news is all over the web, whether it's true or not.  It could hurt her chances if she should get the nomination.  I'm just saying.

I want to go on record that she's a real woman, not a fish, as far as I know...

WHO CARES IF HE IS MUSLIM?  When did Muslim become a dirty, bad thing?  I get more pissed off that everyone is acting like saying he is or he isn't a Muslim is like inserting the words "child molestor" in the place of Muslim.  There are approximately 5,000,000 Muslims in this country.  When did their religion become a smear?

The Clintonistas will have to stop employing and warning of classic Repug tactics before our respect for them is restored in any way.  Sure, it's a simulated while largely unnecessary dry run for November, but it still leaves the same stink.

I hope your point is that the HRC supporters look silly as they pretend that the wingnuts' name calling toward BHO is so devistating, at the same time they are oblivious to the wingnut attacks waiting for HRC.

Are you not equally outraged at the Clinton smears?

First Obama is not a muslim.  He denied that.  His wife denied that.    Hillary denied that, her answer to a reporter question if Obama a muslim not was "of cause not".

Second, it doesn't matter to consider selecting the president if he has muslim upbringing or born from a muslim father.  The most important question is who is more qualified to do a good job as a president.

I will still vote for Hillary if she has muslim upbringing, born from a muslim father, her middle name is medina or fatima.

This is the least important question we should be discussing about Obama.  And IMHO, we shouldn't be discussing it at all.

Oh for pity's sake. I demand that you read the bloody post and comments.

Everybody who's paying close attention knows it isn't true, that Obama's a Christian. But what do people who aren't paying much attention find when they search? Not the Obama campaign's fact check page, not now. There are a few mainstream news sites and a bunch of right wing smears.

What is it, again, that you want people to find?

Just flat out wrong. Every. Single. Link. Points to a debunking of this.

A diary on DKos today suggests that we all get together and Google-bomb this subject. I couldn't agree more. Here's my contribution:

Barack Obama is not a Muslim.

See Media Matters for the whole sordid story:

http://mediamatters.org/items/2008030900 01

It's like: Okay, Mrs. Clinton, you still haven't proven to me that Obama is not a Muslim. You keep saying no he's a Christian and that it's a slur. Are you saying it is impossible that he is a Muslim? I'll ask you one more time.

I can't believe how many sites there are spreading the lies that Barack is a Muslim . Personally, I wouldn't care if he was, although the truth is that he's a born again christian.
I hate terrorism, but not the millions of Islamics who are NOT terrorists. I am a Christian, but I think there are good things in the Islamic religion, as there are in many other faiths besides Christianity.
Besides that, radical Islamic Fundamentalism really began to spread with the rise of Ayatollah Kholmeni in the 70s, so the people who talk about Barack's Kenyan father (Barack's grandfather was a Muslim) and Indonesian stepfather being fundmentalist Muslims and Barack attending a madrassa as a child in the 60s are totally uninformed and their claims are ridiculous.
I think these stories are being spread by white supremecists who are rabid radical rightwing nutcases. It wasn't that long ago that one could do a search and find stories about moderate Islamics who oppose terrorism, but it's not that easy now because the number of anti-muslim sites out there is huge and most of this is xenophobic propaganda designed to get supporters for Bush and Cheney's "oil war" and Western exploitation of 3rd World labor and resources, all of which increases Islamic anger at the U.S.
Anyone who wants to know the TRUTH about Barack Obama's heritage should read his book, "Dreams From My Father" instead of listening to rightwing fanatics who pretend to support democracy when they are really supporting fascism, the polar opposite of the liberalism this country was founded on.