Don't Blow it Barack

The woman approached me at the boarding gate for a flight from New York City to Cleveland, Ohio. I was flying out there before the primary to canvass for Barack Obama and had a few tell-tale stickers festooned to my bag and a "Barack Obama" button or two on my jacket. She was Muslim and she asked me to give Barack Obama a message. I can't remember her exact words but she said something along the lines of, "I am Muslim, I am proud to be Muslim. I like Barack Obama and he needs to know, we are his friends. He doesn't have to be afraid of us." She expressed concern at the way in which he had been dealing with the Muslim "smear" campaign being launched against him by the crazies on the right. "It is not a bad thing to be Muslim," she said, "and while of course I understand that he is not Muslim, he should not have to distance himself from us."

Last week, two Muslim women clad in headscarves were asked to get out of the backdrop at an Obama rally in Detroit, Michigan. Earlier this week, the New York Times ran a front page article describing the way in which Muslims across America are feeling snubbed by Barack Obama. One of the reporter's key sources was one of Barack Obama's key supporters in the Muslim American community, Minnesota Congressman, Keith Ellison who said he would never forget the quote delivered to him by an aide of Barack Obama's, sent to his office to ask him not to appear at an Obama rally at a mosque in Cedar Rapids, Michigan, because the campaign was afraid it would stir controversy, "We have a very tightly wrapped message," the aide said.

Now I understand the logic. It's all about fear and the fear of what some right wing Republicans will do with a picture of Barack Obama and, god-forbid, a Muslim, shaking hands or, heaven-help-us, hugging at a fundraiser, or a rally, or a town hall meeting. One image of Barack Obama entering or leaving a mosque and, oh-sweet-and-merciful-lord-in-heaven, he's part of a terrorist cell or "working for the Iraqis," as one smartly dressed and apparently cultured local told a fellow-canvasser in Eastern Pennsylvania.

"Are you sure he's not part of a sleeper cell?" I was asked by a woman I met, again in Eastern Pennsylvania, a woman who was really and truly worried that we were all being duped by this man with the funny name. She seemed like a smart woman, affluent and informed, but not so well-informed as it turned out.

"Yes," I said. "I'm sure."

The other night, I argued back and forth with some friends. One said, and he has a point, "do you know what the right wing will do with a picture of Obama and two Muslim women sitting in the background?" His wife argued that Obama is smarter than that, more charismatic, and that he would succeed in talking over that kind of chatter.

I agree with her.

There is no doubt that the messengers of disinformation are extremely effective. But that does not mean that the Obama Campaign should wave the white flag and surrender.

Up until now, the Obama campaign has been smarter, more agile and swift in their dealings with controversy. It must not succumb now to this, the most destructive and divisive of strategies. This is a new class of racism, one which, of course, stems from the terrorist attacks of 9/11. It is the exploitation of people's ignorance and people's differences and it cannot be allowed to succeed. It harkens back to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War 2. It is exchanging Muslim for Black, or Hispanic, or Irish or Tutsi in the long sorry history of humanity and its propensity for finding one race or religion superior to all others.

Barack Obama's campaign is about inclusion, not exclusion. He can win this thing without making the cowardly and politically expedient calculations that so disappoint those of us who genuinely believe in a better way forward for this country.

How's that for a tightly wrapped message?

Comments

[larry278]

It has occured to me that a large # of Americans have never met a Muslim. I guess that Muslims are mysterious if you haven't met a Muslim. Thanks Fisal, Ashgar, Ahmed, Madi, Nur for educating me. Muslims make good friends & neighbors.
larry lynch

[abdallac]

Sorry,
You have met Muslims probably every week of your life and just don't know they are Muslims. They are probably your physicians, attorneys, business people, journalists, even the famous Dr. Oz from the Oprah show is a Muslim - I BET that doesn't even register on the radar of most people because he looks WHITE (we do come in all colors).

Do I need to walk around with a sign saying "Hello, I am a Muslim - please feel free to come talk to me and ask me anything. I'm funny, smart, principled and a loyal friend."

[mostlyharmless]

the implications of this muslim = smear thinking, and obama’s vehement protestations that he is not a muslim but a “dedicated christian”, are that muslims cannot be upright, loyal americans and that christianity is a guarantee of moral fiber and patriotism . . . however, we know this is untrue, since christian leaders lie, cheat, steal, and betray the constitution all the time . . . gw’s faith certainly hasn’t kept him from violating just about every code of law there is, whether moral, statutory or constitutional

in a secular state, the measure of a leader should be his words and deeds, not religious affiliation, but when obama returns the wingnut serve on this issue, he affirms that the religion ball is in play, and he helps send the message to all americans that being a muslim is bad

and this isn't just about the ways discrimination against muslims and arabs offends their dignity and deprives them of full and equal citizenship . . . this entrenched, unchallenged bigotry supports the policies of the neocons, under which we bombed iraq into the dark ages and may bomb, bomb iran . . . who cares if we kill a bunch of innocent arabs/muslims, when we see them as other, even sub-human?

senator obama needs to employ some of his extraordinary eloquence to lob a new message at the right wing, reminding us all of the separation of church and state and the dangers of choosing religious form over moral substance

[klopresto]

Ugh, even my mother thinks to this day that he is muslim! I just don't get it! Racism and fear run deep with older voters I suppose.

[munjuni]

I agree with you totally.
If we voters were as knowledgable as we should, he would not need to do this.
I support his doing so because we have voters who to this day think he is a muslim despite the Rev. Wright controversy.
What we need to do is to talk to these ignorant voters and let them know the truth. That Obama is the best choice for president.
THANK GOD, MORE AMERICANS ARE SEEING THE LIGHT.

[hopeless277]

He's just like the rest of the Dems. So scared of the Republican attack machine that he basically trashes all his principles in an attempt to blunt their attacks. In this way, he actually becomes a Republican which is exactly what they want. Courage is an impossible comidity to find in any elected offical these days.

[seawolf77]

Very well said. All our politicians are the same. It is so weird. The further right and left they go, the more the same they become. It's like they're making a circle.

[Indoboy7]

I am not a heavy "hitter"(r­ead:$$$$co­ntributor) for Senator Obama, but I am stopping what little I have contributed to his campaign:.­.TWICE within 2 weeks Obama has displayed the same political, calculating and manipulating attitude that he proclaims need changing in America.Fi­rst, his crawling back from public financing, now -MORE DAMAGING- his lack of political courage in giving this pathetic, failed president what he wants: FISA immunity for the telecom companies.­.IN doing so, Obama has joined the rest of Congress in saying "we're only a little bit pregnant".­..THE TERRORISTS HAVE WON:...The­y have changed the way we used to adhere to the US Constituti­on...The US Constitution has been stepped on and torn by Bush and his gang-in-th­e-White-Ho­use, and only 15 senators had the moral courage and political backbone to try and stop this emperor-wa­nnabee....­...A thoroughly disgusted, revolted (former legal Immigrant) US citizen

[BlueBerryPickN]

to convince people you're not a threat & soothe money & power by not appearing to give off cues of 'differentness' would be to deny one's heritage, right?
& to point it out? would make me a racist, right?

if you don't believe that, consider what Nader was TRYING TO SAY when he was clipped into a vapid sound byte that de-emphasized what happens when someone tries to convince MONEY & POWER that you're not going to rock their boat enough that they need to throw you overboard
Would Obama be more effective against the stagnant influence of corrupted money & power if he showed up in a dashiki?
you only hear about Nader if the MONEY & POWER WHO OWN THE MEDIA FEEL FIT TO TELL YOU SOMETHING THAT CAN REQUIRE MORE THOUGHT than the average person is willing to put into news media analysis

clips are pared down to their most emotive, least contextual or explanatory nano-second segments & media goes wild on it

a nano-second to reconsider if different means threatening?

At least Nader gets media - look what they did to Kucinich
Dean disappeared when BigMedia realized Dean supported media reforms
there is more money & protection in Obama selling out than there is for him standing & being a TRUE humanist

Konservatives have way too much invested to allow him to be the man we need
what is *our* best interest?

There is no 'we' in corruption, though Money & Corruption would love us to

[abdallac]

For you posters - so when will the time EVER be right for him to address what is essentially bigotry and acceptance of profiling of Americans who are Muslim???

Will it be when he gets in the White House and THEN they will worry that everyone will believe that they've been duped by him ?Will it be after 2 years, 4 years - the next election in 2012? When will it ever be the right time to stop doing the wrong thing?

Neither candidate has even so much as accepted a SINGLE invitation by any Muslim mosque or araganization ANYWHERE in the country - yet Obama goes running to give a speech to AIPAC the MORNING AFTER the securing nomination?? The most powerful lobbying group in America whose interests are a foreign country??

So many Muslims are already ready to switch gears to a third party candidate NOT because they don't llike or believe in Obama but because Obama doesn't believe in us. Frankly, I have a hard time casting my vote with someone who doesn't want to be associated with me. I think THAT's more than fair.

[mypov123]

I hope you don't truly believe that he doesn't want to be associated with Muslims because he is prejudiced against them. It's not that at all. I know it may be hard to understand and not take it personally, but Sen. Obama is (and will continue to be) up against a lot of smear attacks by the GOP and right-wing nuts who want to demonize him, and will use something as innocent as taking a picture with someone who is Muslim to scare the less educated in our country into thinking that he's a terrorist. That's where the Republican base lies-with the less educated and those who haven't had a lot of experience interacting with people of different ethnic backgrounds, religions, etc. They will be using race and religion to make people afraid of him. No matter what he does, he is criticized. It's a complex and difficult position to be in. As I said, I know it's hard not to take it personally , but I truly don't believe that it's because he fears you or because he has any prejudice.

[savagetiger]

Something tells me the "Muslim voting bloc" isn't quite large enough for any party to worry about just yet - a fact that only highlights the problem.

I understand your frustration - and the answer to your question is "Not now". I won't hazard a guess as to when - but it certainly won't be during a general election, and its obvious why.

It is indeed bigotry, and not something the "muslim voting bloc" will come anywhere close to overcoming overnight, especially by pinning their hopes on presidential politics - it is sadly what it is.

[mostlyharmless]

actually, arab voters -- muslim, christian and other -- are a significant bloc in the swing states, making up 5% of likely voters in michigan, 2% in both ohio and florida (2x the 2004 margin of victory!) and more than 1.5% in pennsylvania . . . given that they have been trending more and more democratic with every year of the bush administration, perhaps obama would be wise to forget about appeasing white racists, who probably aren’t going to vote for a black man anyway, and shore up his arab/muslim american support

[PATina]

I pretty much agree w/ your statement.­.. but you say...

Neither candidate has even so much as accepted a SINGLE invitation by any Muslim mosque or araganization ANYWHERE in the country - yet Obama goes running to give a speech to AIPAC the MORNING AFTER the securing nomination?? The most powerful lobbying group in America whose interests are a foreign country??


My question is... how come McCain isn't getting all this grief as well. If he hasn't gone after the Muslim vote... why aren't you feeling snubbed by him?? It seems as if you couldn't care less about McCain... because you already know you DON'T want to vote for him.

Mu point is... if you already beleive that Obama is better for this country than McCain... why does he have to pander to you to get your vote???

Maybe I'm wrong and you don't know whether Obama would be better than McCain... but then I'd think you'd be mad about McCain not showing up at mosques and running to AIPAC.

[abdallac]

To answer your question - under the diabolical and deceitful Bush Administration - We have bombed 2 Muslim countries, murdered well over 100, 000 civilians (apparently every 1 American lost in 9/11 is worth 66 + Muslims, my civil rights have been curtailed, Muslims from all over my community were attacked, arrested on trumped up charges and many have just plain ol' DISAPPEARED - these were NOT immigrants on a VISA these were citizens whose families have been in this country for over 100 years. I'm not 's looking for anyone who obviouly will continue criminal behavior.

I have never had Republican leanings and am an Independent - if this black man who worked and made his way all the way to Harvard Law School, who understands what it is to be a suspect minority, who has lived among Muslims and has an appreciation for the larger global community AND wants to call himself the "CHANGE Candidate" AND says that he is trying to "UNITE" all Americans - well, then YES - I think if's fair to say I expect something more of him.

[munjuni]

Neither candidate has even so much as accepted a SINGLE invitation by any Muslim mosque or araganization ANYWHERE in the country - yet Obama goes running to give a speech to AIPAC the MORNING AFTER the securing nomination?? The most powerful lobbying group in America whose interests are a foreign country??

BECAUSE WE HAVE IDIOTIC VOTERS WHO WILL FALL PREY TO THE RIGHT WING PROPAGANDA SPIN MACHINE.

I could not believe my ears this morning on NPR Radio when a registered voter said that Obama has a Black agenda and there will be riots all over the country when he gets elected as president of the United States. By the way, he called him Osama and had to be corrected.
Seriously, such people SHOULD NOT have a right to vote.

[2bad]

I completely disagree with the you're position that he's being "cowardly" on this issue. It's naive to think that there aren't thousands, possibly millions of people that would change their mind about voting for Obama if they see him with a group that somehow visibly demonstrate they are Muslim. I thinks it's a disgrace that it has to be a consideration but right or wrong, it is what it is.

White America is going to need a slow introduction to the reality that all Muslims aren't terrorists! After 7 years of the republican fear-mongering hate machine, again, it is what it is. Wishing it weren't so won't feed the bulldog. Let the man get elected and then we can have all the photo ops you want. It will show those Americans who are narrow of mind and believe the crap that Bush Co. has been spreading is a lie. They'll finally see that radical Islam is to the Muslim faith what the KKK is to the Christian faith.

[CindyV]

This is the kind of thing that bothers me most about Obama. When the heat starts, he folds. When the heat was on Rev. Wright, Obama threw his pastor under the bus. When the heat was on his church, he left it. Even in such a small thing like his own presidential seal, when people made snarky remarks, the seal was removed. What does this guy stand for? And when does he stand up if he believes strongly in something? And now comes the FISA bill. Will he stand up for his convictions or will he vote to "go along to get along?" It seem sto me that when push comes to shove, Obama fold like a lawnchair in the wind.

[robynuva]

He stood by Rev Wright until he went to the washington press club and acted like a crazy person. The presidential seal thing was a dumb move, and it was smart to make it go away. Who is voting for the new FISA bill because it contains real congressional oversite, unlike the status quo.

He is a man of convictions, but he is also not an idiot. How many times have you seen Rev W on the MSM? do we really need MORE conversations about his religion?

[2bad]

I completely disagree with the you're position that he's being "cowardly" on this issue. It's naive to think that there aren't thousands, possibly millions of people that would change their mind about voting for Obama if they see him with a group that somehow visibly demonstrate they are Muslim. I think it's a disgrace that it has to be a consideration but right or wrong, it is what it is.

White America is going to need a slow introduction to the reality that all Muslims aren't terrorists! After 7 years of the republican fear-mongering hate machine, again, it is what it is. Wishing it weren't so won't feed the bulldog. Let the man get elected and then we can have all the photo ops you want. It will show those Americans who are narrow of mind and believe the crap that Bush Co. has been spreading is a lie. They'll finally see that radical Islam is to the Muslim faith what the KKK is to the Christian faith.

[LAJonathan]

I have a better title for your post "Don't blow it democrats" - all of this whining, moaning, complaining needs to STOP. Is the far left going to ruin this with all of their bitching and moaning about this vote or that vote? I don't know, but they better not. Let the man get elected first.

[StephenDedalus82]

It's zany how often I hear from people how they mistrust Obama because he refuses to put his hand over his heart, etc. With all the available sources of information, the only thing they know about him are untruths that belong in the spam filter? It's scary to think how many Americans vote having been informed only by email rumors and perhaps trashy AM radio.

[savagetiger]

How is it ? Short-sighted.

While Obama does champion a new politics, we as a voting public aren't quite there yet. Giving FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) propaganda to your adversary in this political climate is still suicide.

Obama has inspired us, but I have no confidence that we, as Americans, are yet above the fray. He is so inspirational, the voting public continues to assign causes to his candidacy, some of which are political folly regardless of my personal feelings of his ability to bring transparency and accountability to politics.

Its hard enough to be black and to run for president - Lets not ask too much out of John Q. Public just yet.

[texanna]

Sen. Obama should be very careful about how he gets down off of that pedestal that he's either put himself onto or allowed himself to be put on by his enraptured supporters.