OBAMA WAS NEVER A MUSLIM BUT WHEN HAS TRUTH EVER STOPPED A REPUBLICAN SMEAR?

Which Insiders are smearing Obama-- the GOP or the Clintons?

Obama, who appears to be on the verge of winning the South Carolina primary (do or die for his campaign insists the Broder Oracle)-- latest Reuters/Zogby poll shows him up over Hillary 43-24%-- isn't my candidate... not yet at least. I don't feel he's got what it takes to be a great president. I prefer John Edwards (who is flawed enough). But compared to any of the pathetic pygmies... Obama would be an amazing president. If he were running against a lying sack of crap like McCain or Giuliani or Willard, I would crawl to a polling place on my knees through broken glass to vote for Obama. And you know how much difference it would make to me if he were a Muslim? None, zero, zip. I don't care about someone's religious affiliation when it comes to politics-- unless it's someone like The Huckster or Bush who's trying to mix-- or exploit-- their religionist beliefs (or pretensions) with politics.

Yesterday CNN reported that Obama decided to take on the Muslim smear head-on.

"I think it 's very important for people not to buy into the kinds of dirty tricks that we've become so accustomed to in our politics, and people need to understand I'm not and never have been of the Muslim faith," he told CBN's David Brody.

In e-mail messages that have been circulating as long as Obama has been a presidential candidate, the Illinois senator is said be a Muslim who refuses to recite the pledge of allegiance, and one who "joined the United Church of Christ in an attempt to downplay his Muslim background." In fact, Obama has never been a Muslim.

"I think that those who are of the Muslim faith are deserving of respect and dignity, but to try and feed into this fear-mongering and try to question my faith commitments and my belief in Jesus Christ, I think is offensive," Obama also said. "And I want to make sure that people are absolutely clear about what's going on with this, and if they get another one of these e-mails that they're deleting it and letting their friends know that it's nonsense."

Obama did not hypothesize who was behind the e-mails, but noted, "somehow they appear magically wherever the next primary or caucus is."

His comments are the latest in a heightened effort to beat back the Internet rumors ahead of South Carolina's Democratic primary Saturday.

I was disappointed that Obama felt the need to send out a mailer in South Carolina kowtowing to the ignorant and superstitious primitives there by telling them that he "felt a beckoning of the spirit and accepted Jesus Christ into his life" while posing with a cross. Pathetic!

On the other hand, while I was in Asia, CNN International kept playing this sly news report that make sit clear that-- at the very least-- his family back in Kenya (his father's side of the family) are Muslims? I wonder how many bigots and idiots will let that sway them and wind up voting for either a worse candidate in the primary (Hillary) or a worse candidate in the general (any of the pygmies).