Wow.
Trust me, I'm not supporting Obama blindly.
Well ok, don't trust me, since it's clear you already have formed an opinion.
Do not mistake my passion for zealotry. I have read his books, and find him to be a man who can express his ideas eloquently. He has wonderful leadership qualities, he makes attempts to answer questions openly and honestly, values and understands technology and it's ability to make a positive impact on the world. He believes in transparency above secrecy, and I trust he'll mold his government around such principles. That's a start, I can certainly engage in further reasoned debate if you are interested.
I'm not talking about a discussion of people's past. Discussion and analysis? The root cause of the staffers mistake is hardly a result of discussion and analysis. I'm talking about plain old Republican smear tactics.
The second most popular urban legend or rumor on Snopes is Senator Obama. Granted this isn't scientific by any means, so take it for what it's worth. I challenge you to find a similar volume of smear tactics from the Democrats. Don't get me wrong, it's not because we're good people, it's just a lack of organization!
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/obama.asp
Senator McCain's list is a bit smaller. Care to wager a guess as to why?
http://www.snopes.com/politics/mccain/m ... mccainsons
As far as Obama attending a Muslim school, it's cool with me if you really think that matters. I think it's just another Rovian scare tactic.
But you don't have to trust me. Let's see what Senator Obama has to say about this.
"For my mother, organized religion too often dressed up closed-mindedness in the garb of piety, cruelty and oppression in the cloak of righteousness.
This isn't to say that she provided me with no religious instruction. In her mind, a working knowledge of the world's great religions was a necessary part of any well-rounded education. In our household the Bible, the Koran, and the Bhagavad Gita sat on the shelf alongside books of Greek and Norse and African mythology. On Easter or Christmas Day my mother might drag me to church, just as she dragged me to the Buddhist temple, the chinese New Year celebration, the Shinto shrine, and ancient Hawaiian burial sites. But I was made to understand that such religious samplings required no sustained commitment on my part. Religion was an expression of human culture, she would explain, not its wellspring, just one of the many ways — and not necessarily the best way — that man attempted to control the unknowable and understand the deeper truths about our lives.
In sum, my mother viewed religion through the eyes of the anthropologist she would become; it was a phenomenon to be treated with a suitable respect, but with a suitable detachment as well. "
The fact that you quote Islamic text without clearly expressing intent is even weirder than my cloudy judgement. If you would, please translate for the rest of us? As I am sure you are aware, that phrase has several translations, and I'm curious which one you intended to communicate here.
Obama is certainly not denouncing the fact that he went to a predominantly Muslim school! He is denouncing the strategy of the Republican party, which include tactics such as Whisper Campaigns (John McCain 2000), ad hominem attacks (Barack Hussein Obama), and questioning people's patriotism (John Murtha and about half of all Americans) for simply disagreeing with their position.
You said: "Young voters look at McCain as old and out of touch; white and Hispanic working class voters see Obama as an elitist, intellectual do nothing."
I believe we can do better than simple stereotypes.
