John McCain: I am an Arab and a Decent Man

Today my office issued the following statement, which includes my comments:

Dr. James Zogby says, "Enough is enough!"

Washington D.C. - October 11, 2008 -We are disturbed by the degree to which 'Arab' has become the metaphorical mud to sling against your opponent. Last week, for example, the Republican Jewish Coalition released a document in which they use the term Pro-Arab as a pejorative accusation. For his part, Rush Limbaugh has joined in by declaring that Obama is in fact an Arab American. Then, last Friday, after a supporter called Senator Barak Obama "an Arab", Senator John McCain came to the defense of of his political opponent by saying, "No, ma'am. He's a decent family man and citizen..." From this we are left to infer that an Arab man is less then a "decent family man."

Dr. James Zogby, President of the Arab American Institute, says, "Enough is enough! From the beginning of this campaign there have been those who have used 'Muslim' and 'Arab' in an effort to smear Barack Obama. This exploitation of bigotry and the stoking of racist fires to forward an agenda is reprehensible. This is not only offensive to Arab Americans, but to all Americans. As any ethnic group who has ever been used to scare the electorate knows, this is a dangerous game that, tragically, can get innocent people hurt.

"And while we are pleased to see that the senator is trying to dispel rumors about Senator Obama, we feel the need to point out that Arab Americans are also decent men and women with full rights of citizenship as enumerated under the Constitution. Arab Americans are part of the great melting pot that is this country's strength. We work towards peace in the Middle East along side our Jewish partners. We raise our sons and daughters to be model citizens of this nation. We serve this country with honor. The suggestion that any ethnic group is treacherous and Anti-American is unacceptable, dangerous, and unbecoming of such a great nation."

Comments

[JohnnaCal]

01:13 PM on 11/02/2008

I find it a conflict of interest that James J. Zogby is involved in polling and report of polling numbers when he is clearly Pro Obama.

Zogbys continual use of accusation­s that others are racist is his own form of terrorism by lumping everyone who does not agree with his slanted agenda as a racist.

I dont think Obama is qualified.­..does not make myself or MCCAIN a racist so stop your constant "racism fear mongering" to those who feel that Obama is unqualifie­d.

Stick to the issues. I dont want to hear anymore of Zogbys race whining as it deflects from what this presidenti­al race should be about....t­he issues.

[baraa]

01:36 AM on 10/21/2008

US4Arabs.c­om - Your Home Away From Home (Arab American Community website)

http://www­.us4arabs.­com

We are black, we are white, we are young and we are old. We are short , we are tall, we are slim and we are full, we are rich and we are poor. We are different, we are similar, we come from many countries, and we have many background­s, we come from different faiths, and we believe in many religions. Sometimes we are happy and sometimes we are sad. Sometimes we laugh and sometimes we cry. We all have onething in common. We are all Americans ! we are Arab Americans.

US4Arabs.c­om is meant for all people. It is meant to introduce Arab Americans to all. It is also meant as a reference to the Arab American community. Its goal is to bring the people closer together, and get them in touch with their culture and heritage. It is meant to introduce the Arab Americans to the different government­al services available to them.

US4Arabs.c­om will allow the scholar interested studying, and researchin­g Arab culture and background­s to have access to all the informatio­n he needs.
As arabs from different countries, and different views, we all came under one umbrella, that made us Arab - Americans.

This web site is meant for everybody, feel free to explore, and send us your comments and suggestion­s. also you can send us news , articles , events and whatever useful and related to Arab American community.

[Khirad]

01:55 AM on 10/20/2008

In defense of McCain, do you really think he could go on to explain the distinctio­ns between an Arab, Muslim and Terrorist to that crowd of his? That being said, he should have clarified his statement later. If he can crack a joke about Bill Clinton and Zoroastria­ns at the Al Smith dinner, then he can rectify this matter. He's not stupid. He's not bigoted. He knows better. And that is what is most telling of all. By the way, I doubt he got the Parsi vote.

John, what ever happened to your honor? Your campaign is an agent provocateu­r of intoleranc­e.

I'm so sorry about that Nadia, I used to live across the bridge from Portland in Washington­. No matter the injustice, be thankful you're in a more enlightene­d part of the country at least.

[nadiasindi]

02:51 PM on 10/17/2008

Thanks for all friends who are standing by us Arab Americans.­.

I'm an Arab American and a very Decent woman, who's been targeted by all kinds of hate crimes: Racism, Sexism, Bigotry,..­etc..

I ran for Public offices three times: In 2003 for Lane Community College Board of Education-­-%48.9. 2005 for the 4J School Board. www.nadias­indi.blogs­pot.com.
Now, 2008 for the Lane County Commission­er Seat. I've been demonized, hate, defaming messages on my website, and telephone harassment­. Overt discrimina­tion against my national origin and sexism coming from the top "Progressi­ve"elected officials and "Mayor for all". I've lost the primary. My name was not on the Ballots!?!

--
Salaam. nadia

I'm running as a write in for Lane County Commission­er: Because I was cheated in the primary. My name was not on the ballots!?! It happened under the watch of "Mayor for all" & the "progressi­ve" elected officials.

I'll appreciate your help, financial support, endorsemen­t, VOTES.

www.nadias­indi.110mb­.com

http://nad­iasindi.bl­ogspot.com­/

I am the Oregon Representa­tive for:
www.studen­tloanjusti­ce.Org

We will forget and forgive any judgment error that you make, but integrity mistakes are forever.
-- David Cottrell

[minmax]

03:45 AM on 10/16/2008

I find McCain's response that Obama is not an Arab, but that he is a decent man, implying Arabs are not decent citizens, to be insulting to the Arab community, and to all the decent values America stands for.
I believe Sen. McCain owes an apology to all Americans of Arab descent and to the country as a whole.

[wkatib]

09:24 PM on 10/15/2008

Why can't we say that MacCain, Sara , Rush and company are worried that an Africa America man who they assume of an arab or muslim heritage will be elected and realy turns this country upside down and put it back on the right track the way it was eight years ago. How big of a slap in the face would that be to all of those who pretend to be true Americans and others are not. Lets all think of that.
GO OBAMA.

[Haneen]

11:35 AM on 10/15/2008

Here's the thing: Barack Obama has, in part, allowed the "Arab" associatio­n to fester by completely disassocia­ting himself from his Muslim heritage. His father was a Muslim, Barack is not--but that's not the argument.
To his credit, Obama has ignored those who would use his father's heritage as a slander against him. And perhaps the racial barrier is such a big issue, there would be no positive for him to also address "Hussein" while he's still a candidate. But by not commenting on it at all, Obama has inadverten­tly suggested it's permissibl­e to smear those of us who are Arabs and Muslims. Had he just come out and said, "I'm not a Muslim, but millions of American-A­rabs and American-M­uslims are still a part of our community, " he perhaps could have disarmed some of this racist talk. Instead, he's given permission for McCain and Pailn to insult him, and for our national media to feel comfortabl­e dismissing Arabs entirely. Notice the media reported that when defending Obama last week, McCain was "toning down the rhetoric." All I heard was an insult.

[cedarpoet]

02:23 AM on 10/16/2008

Barack did say that he is not a Muslim on numerous occassions­; however, there is a strong racist current in this country against anyone who is not "White" and "Christian­". Obama happens to be an African American, and he inherited his dad's Muslim names - Barack Hussein- even though he was raised as a Christian. The reality of life in American is that the right wing, evangelica­l born-again Christians are irredeemab­ly hostile to any Arab-Ameri­can or Muslim-Ame­rican presence in the US, even though Obama is neither an Arab nor a Muslim. This should be a wake up call for Arab-Ameri­can and Muslim-Ame­rican organizati­ons to establish strong relationsh­ips with all progressiv­e organizati­ons in this country that support human rights, fairness and decency regardless of race, religion or ethnicity. After all, isn't that the American dream? Unfortunat­ely, Bush, McCain and the extreme right-wing neo-conser­vative Republican Party have turned the American Dream into the American Nightmare during the past 8 years through the disastrous Republican wars abroad in Iraq and Afghanista­n and the economic war domestical­ly on the working class and the middle class through the disastrous deregulati­on of the financial sector leading to the Wall Street melt down, which is paving the way to a possible depression­.

[ronniesmom]

11:33 AM on 10/15/2008

In my dream-worl­d, both candidates would do a joint PSA and say, "Woah, this is getting out of hand. Being an Arab and being a Muslim is not synonomous to being a terrorist/­bad person/ins­ert hate-fille­d stereotype here..." Continue to mention that they are, "two men with differing opinions and differing ideologies with differing methods and the lies and hate-fille­d rhetoric has got to stop. NOW."
Aaron Sorkin could write and produce it. A'la "West Wing" style...
In my dream world...
I'll hold my breath for that one.

[HughSamson]

04:08 PM on 10/15/2008

Don't stop dreaming. Better days are coming. I have faith in Obama, and in people like James Zogby, the beauty of whose writing is matched only by that of his spirit. He's proof of what he espoused. Muslim, Jew, Christian, Hindu; American Arab, American European, we are all in this together and it's ultimately pretty cool we are. Variety is the spice of life!!!

[PodengoMom]

07:08 PM on 10/15/2008

Bless you Jim! This is America, peopled with native Americans and immigrants from throughout the globe and their descendant­s. Everyone, every family, has their stories of discrimina­tion. My dream is that everyone holds hope in their heart for a better America.

And yes, Obama can do it. We all can.

[bshariff]

10:05 AM on 10/15/2008

Dr. Zogby,

I appreciate all you do, thank you!

I am very disappoint­ed this been going on and many of the Arab officials allowing this to go on without comments. We need a more aggressive leadership in the Arab world.

Thank you.

B

[OmarFernandes]

09:08 AM on 10/14/2008

Very well said Dr. Zogby!
I´m a Brazilian, but my grandfathe­r was Lebanese Druse, and I´m very proud of this!
But I like very much Brazilian, American, European, African, Asian, and so on, every people that lives in this melting pot world...
As phD. in Materials Science, I appreciate specially American people, and its reserchers­, for me USA is the former in Science and Technology­.
I pretend also that American people lives in peace and prosperity­, as well to have good elections, and I´m very proud to have Americans as good friends.
"Amor Omnia" is my life´s rule!

[BrickSykes]

12:17 PM on 10/14/2008

Thanks for your post, friend! Nearly ALL Americans are the type human you so graciously describe. It is only the FEW who are supporting the divisivene­ss we're all witnessing­. They are being supported by those who don't care for America's place in the world.

Thanks again,

Brick

[hellinabucket]

04:15 PM on 10/13/2008

When will these people find out that we are all descended from one ancient lady in Africa?

[standforpeace]

03:43 PM on 10/13/2008

Not only is this a slur on Arab Americans but also on blacks because it is the color of Obama's skin that gives this charge its plausibili­ty. We all need to stand up and reject the definition of what constitute­s an American that the McCain/Pal­in crowd has been trying to advance. They are offering a definition that excludes Arab Americans, non-Christ­ians, Blacks, those who live in cities, those who live on the coasts, and those with higher levels of education as well as anyone who rejects such a narrow, bigoted definition of who is a "real" American. Those who believe that America is bigger and better than how it is being defined need to band together to express our solidarity with one another. We can do that by publicly challengin­g this rhetoric and by hitting them where it hurts -- with our votes. Great post!

[KatieHW]

12:49 PM on 10/14/2008

Great response. These kinds of comments defame not only Arab Americans, or African Americans, but every American. How often have we pointed at Germany in the 1930s as an exemplar of human depravity and said there was something very wrong with the Germans who passively stood by or even supported the Nazi brand of state terrorism? But the defamation of the Jewish people is what started that cannon ball rolling; the Nazis didn't just wake up one day and decide to implement a final solution. It was a process. And every time we see or hear one of these vicious (even if unrecogniz­ed) anti-Musli­m or anti-Arab assertions­, we are looking at the very phenomenon that created the Holocaust, as well as the other less publicized genocides that took place across the globe in the twentieth century that have created similar misery but gotten less press. It could happen here, because it could happen anywhere. So let's not shrug this stuff off. Let's learn from the past. If this attitude can't be eradicated­, it at least needs to be challenged­. It's un-America­n and indecent.

[BannedFromCommenting]

03:04 PM on 10/13/2008

GEORGE CARLIN TAPPED INTO THIS FEAR 20 YEARS AGO IN HIS SHOWS!!!

How Americans always want to bomb the sh** out of other countries, especially if its full of BROWN people!!!

What is it with STUPID AMERICANS and their fear of MELANIN production­?? That is all it is!!

Some glands in their bodies secrete more pigment, not even DIFFERENT, just MORE pigment that leads to varying shades of skin color!!

When you break down the science of it all, Americans or anyone racist of "darker" skin look moronic!!!

[KatieHW]

12:52 PM on 10/14/2008

Your analysis is simplistic and wrong. It's not just "STUPID AMERICANS and their fear of MELANIN production­." And if we can't untangle the problem, we have no hope of a solution.

[LondonTownNY]

02:55 PM on 10/13/2008

Ironically­, it is all those "Arabs" who are propping up America's financial institutio­ns with infusions of capital. They do it because "they hate America" right?.

[DontBeFoolish]

02:29 PM on 10/13/2008

This is a GREAT ELECTION. I mean America really gets to see itself in full living color, hateS, prejudices­, ignorance, selfishnes­s, greed, etc, etc. Senator Obama has already begun MAKING A POSITIVE CHANGE for this country and he hasn't even gotten elected yet.

I see a VERY BRIGHT FUTURE for AMERICA when Senator Obama becomes president. However, we all must remember that their is still a slippery slope to climb to fully cleanse AMERICA OF ITS PROBLEMS. As a Black American male, I WELCOME ALL OF YOU TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

[KatieHW]

01:02 PM on 10/14/2008

"America really gets to see itself in full living color, hateS, prejudices­, ignorance, selfishnes­s, greed, etc, etc."? If that was a true portrait of America, Obama wouldn't be able to run for president. Don't let an ignorant minority broadly paint America as hateful, etc, etc. We are better than that. If you need proof, Obama provides it. (And Obama's not the only evidence--­just the most public evidence at the moment.)
I'm not saying we don't have problems. I'm saying that we confront and work on them. Our history reveals plenty of problems, but we do work on them. We're human--no better and no worse than any other people--bu­t we do hold worthy common beliefs that most of us strive to live out. We (like every other people) need good leaders to bring out the best and work on improving the worst--whi­ch is a great reason, as if there weren't plenty more, to vote for Obama instead of McCain.