benj:
I oppose any attempt to sink Obama’s candidacy through the use of lies and slanderous innuendo. I think Obama can and should be defeated fairly.
My concern about reports of Dr. Mansour’s possible help for Obama isn’t whether it is true but whether it is relevant. (1) Did Dr. Mansour’s letter have any effect upon Obama becoming the editor of the Harvard Law Review? (2) Even if Dr. Mansour’s letter was influential, so what? Even if the report is true, it is unlikely the letter was influential. And even if the letter were influential, Obama’s success in this position still depended upon his skills and his charm.
I perceive the subtext of the Mansour story to be about Islam. Let’s just be honest about it – Mansour is a Muslim name. And was Obama born a Muslim? Yes! According to Islamic law, any person with a Muslim father is a Muslim. Senator Obama was born to a Muslim father and he lived under a Muslim step-father while living in Indonesia. His full name is Barack Hussein Obama. There is nothing wrong with his name. Senator Obama is a Christian now (from the communion of the Trinity United Church of Christ), and I have every reason to take Senator Obama’s word for it. It is a strength of America’s political culture that people have a right to convert to another religion. It shows the strength of American values that, just as people are free to convert to Islam, a man born a Muslim and raised in Indonesia can convert to Christianity in America as a free man. Barack Hussein Obama’s story ought to be seen as a triumph for religious freedom.
Senator Obama has chosen to keep his Muslim middle name of “Hussein”. That is his choice. Still, I would have more respect for him if he would be proud of his full name instead of acting as though the name “Hussein” were a dirty word. I strongly suspect that Senator Clinton’s introduction on the convention floor on Wednesday as “Hillary Rodham Clinton” was no mistake. I think it was an oblique means to remind everybody of Senator Obama’s middle name. If we are all afraid of saying the word “Hussein” as if it were a dead body in the middle of the room, there is something wrong with our society.
I am annoyed whenever any political campaign uses dirty tricks, irrespective of which political faction engages in it.
As you already know, I oppose Senator Obama’s candidacy for President of the United States. However, I have considered the matter and I think Barack Obama would likely be a substantial improvement over the present leadership of Chicago. If Barack Obama were to run for Mayor of Chicago, it would be tempting to actually help out. Besides, in the long run, governing Chicago could give hesitant voters some idea of what an Obama presidency would look like.
As it is, I am annoyed by that halo around Obama’s head in his campaign literature. I have an annoying tendency to vote against anybody who seeks to crown himself with a wreath of light.
