What if Obama were Muslim?

When someone feels that they are entitled to the President's job and see it slipping off from them, their anger comes out. As a result, they lose control and will say anything to try to get back on the saddle. This is their true being that is coming out. By authorizing and condoning outright racist and divisive language, McCain has shown that he cannot tolerate a black man beating him to the White House. Once again by letting his campaign get out of control, he's convinced us that he cannot lead, make intelligent decisions and be careful.

I'm so glad this is finally being addressed. I've been very troubled that the response to "Obama is a Muslim" has been "Oh no, he's not!" rather than "So what if he were?" I appreciate Campbell Brown's comments in saying that the media has been complicit in perpetuating this racism.

Thank you Colin Powell for addressing the issue that has underground in this campaign. So what if Obama is a Muslim?! The fact that Muslim or Arab (which many people think is the same thing) has become both a slur and a disqualifier for office is just appalling. It is both un-American and un-Christian.

Despite what Powell did in terms of supporting the Iraq war, I have always felt he was a man of integrity. This conforms it.

Thank you, Colin Powell! I have been trying to argue this for months now when people say Barack Obama "is" Muslim... I think the response should be, "well, he is a Christian, but there are just as many good Muslims as Christians in the world and this shouldn't be a consideration when we are choosing a President." I am Christian and was raised Christian, but Christians are historically just as guilty of perpetuating crimes and violence in the name of their religion as those who subscribe to radical Islam. Radicals do not speak for every Muslim, just like fundamental evangelical Christians do not speak for me.

Yes, I too was so happy at the fair-minded comment of the former secretary of state about the legitimacy of being Muslim in the United States. I feel the walls are starting to fall and this is indeed a part of the new times that Sen. Barack Obama heralds. Yes, there are normal everyday Americans who are Muslim, who teach their children from childhood about the forbidden things like drugs, alcohol, and pre-marital sex. Every time a see a Muslim woman on the street I know she is a symbol of the silent revolution in this country whose results will become obvious in the moral life of this country within the next twenty to thirty years.

Thanks Michael for posting our little contribution to keep Powell's words resounding, and heard in every nook and corner of this great nation. He said what all Muslims have been hoping to hear ever since the "Muslim smear" came into fashion. I hope Powell has provided the opening for other upright and fair-minded Americans, esp. the Democrats that Muslims are now supporting enmasse, and I include Obama, to step up and ask the same question, "So WHAT? [if a candidate is a Muslim]"

Regards,
Amad for MuslimMatters.org

Mr. Powell, find me a good freedom loving Muslim country?? How many naive Americans still thinks that this religion can still be reform? Have you watch the news lately? Does everyone already forgot all the bombings in Madrid, China, Pakistan, Middle East, NY, The Pentagon, Bali, Philippines, Israel, Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Russia, Chenchya, etc.? News recently is of Muslim pirates off Somalia are in the prowl again hajacking ships for ransom. Where is the outraged Muslim nation over these incedents? I guess as long as only infedels ships are involved, it is all good..
I use to have a lot of respect for Colin Powell. It is obvious he picks Obama simply because he is black. SAD..

I could not agree more! I was so happy when I saw this interview with Mr. Powell; he worded it perfectly. Every time I saw a clip on the news or youtube of some ignorant citizen attacking Barack for being an alleged "Muslim" or "Arab" I was infuriated and could not help but think "Not only is that not true, but so what if he was!?". This is America, a nation that was founded to provide its citizens a number of personal freedoms and rights, one of which is the freedom of religion. It's very sad to see what a stranglehold that Christianity has on some people in this country.

Nancy g and Meghan you said what I wanted to say, as did Colin Powell. I've worked with business people all over the world and there are much more similarities than differences.

The Republican Party leaders and the supporters that spew hateful comments resemble the enemy about which they rant and rave --they seem to have checked their Christianity at the campaign office door.

Sorry Meghan, but Christians are NOT just as guilty of perpetuating crimes in the name of their religion as are Muslims. The Crusades, for example, would never have been fought had Muslims not first invaded and conquered areas that had previously been Christian. Of the approximately 30 sectarian conflicts currenly being waged in the world, Muslims are belligerents in all but one of them: a claim that can be made about no other faith in the world.

Worldwide, thousands of terrorist acts have been committed since 9/11 in the name of Islam, often without so much as a peep of protest from the "moderate" Muslim community.

Your comparison between Evangelical Christians and Muslim fanatics is also fundamentally flawed. When has an Evangelical minister called for the beheading of those who insult his or her faith? Muslim Imams do it all the time.

But here's the bottom line . . . there will be a large number of Americans who won't get what Powell's point was and will STILL believe (and vote) that Obama is a Muslim. We have a serious shortage of intelligence in America and generational bigotry that Palin and McCain and Rick Davis and Steve Schmidt are playing off of just for the sake of injecting fear into our lives and fighting for the White House. We should be more concerned about the people that are driving McCain to this unnatural position that he will regret someday. Palin is NOT what America stands for. Middle America is being used by McCain so he can keep the big money people in play. My father always says "just follow the money."

Jack Phillips should study his history more. Muslims did not invade the middle east, displacing Christians there. Mohamed lived in the seventh century in what is now Saudi Arabia. From there his religion spread by conversion throughout the area. Although Christianity started in the middle east it was spread from Rome to a great extent.

John: As he said, if Powell wanted to support Obama just because he is black he would have done it long ago. It has been McCain's erratic leadership in this campaign, for example choosing Sarah Palin and his underhanded character attacks on Obama, that caused Powell to choose Obama.

It’s so refreshing to see an article like this. Equally as refreshing is Powell speaking in defense of Islam and what this country fundamentally stands for – religious freedom. This type of awareness is desperately needed at a time when a campaign has amounted to children calling each other names in the sandbox. Imagine Obama’s inauguration speech highlighting the confessions of a true Muslim: “I AM a Muslim, what are you going to do about it America?” What WOULD Americans do if Obama were a Muslim? Is the Obama-Muslim rumor really that ugly or are the Americans, those who think they’re doing justice to mankind by perpetuating a “harmful” rumor, truly the ugly ones?

There seems to be no end to classic cases of Islamophobia. In these small yet significant instances we are awakened to note that America’s legacy of imperialism continues to shine subtly yet brightly even today. How do these candidates even have the time to defame a religion and a people in spite of this serious financial crisis at home? How do they have the nerve to make plans to invade third-world countries? Has America not learned its lesson? Apparently it has not. I am not surprised for we have a long history of killing off “the other”. Let’s not forget about those beloved Native Americans to whom Westerners offered an elaborately decorated feast in exchange for their lives.

The stigma that surrounds Islam due to Western ignorance is just sickening at this point. No seven-year-old Muslim American child should have to face religious discrimination from his first grade classmates just because the leaders of his so-called knowledgeable country are further brainwashing their residents to believe that “Muslim” is a slur, that being a Muslim must mean being a terrorist. McCain and his Republican party aren’t the only ones who are using “Muslim” as a tool to ensure their survival in this election. Obama too has repeatedly assured his well-to-do Americans that he is not a Muslim, that he is on their side. I’m sorry, but none of these presidential candidates offer me a real revolution.

While I disagree with classifying people regarding the religion or belief they have. I would like to clarify that some of the fears of American people who think Obama is Muslim are totally true, and here I want to ask some questions?
Is it permitted in the laws of Islam that the president be Christian? and Is it really not true that Islam as a religion has political and expansion agenda? Is not that what we notice in some countries that has permitted large numbers of Muslims in like UK and France?
I don't say Muslim people are bad or classified as less, but it is the type of commandments in the Quraan that force many people to question their loyalty?

There is a certain amount of ducking of heads in the sand on this whole issue. Ask any European what s/he thinks about Islamification of their secular state and you will get a more sobre answer to these questions.

The problem with a US President being a Muslim would be due to the fact that Islam is fundamentally incompatible with the ideology of Western liberal democracy.

Islam is a primitive, vindictive religion that demands - not just obediance from its followers - but submission of all in the State to its tenets. We may be willing to see beyond a European past scarred by religious wars but I can assure you, they are not. They still see Europe as a lost battleground, one which they are keen to reconquer.

Nor is it the case that modernity makes Islam less radical; that they become more like us the more we are willing to accept them. In fact, the opposite happens; as we have relaxed our hegemony over secular-leaning Muslim countries they have become more radical. Look at what threatens Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt; the list goes on.

Meanwhile, in Berlin, ethnic German girls are being told to wear headscarves if they want to walk down certain streets. Glass ceilings, anyone?

The Muslims who come here are trying to escape intolerable living conditions in their countries and find a place where they can feel safe and their children can have it better than they do............ the exact same reasons that most of our ancestors had when they chose to come to the USA.

Of course Powell has an excellent point. Every person in this world has the right to be judged individually. Of course there are good Muslims. They exist. At least a few. But lets face it, it's hard not to be prejudice against a religion that cuases 95 percent of the terrorism in this world. A religion that wants to kill someone for mis-naming a teddy bear. A religion that makes their women go around with their face covered. A religion that makes it a crime for an unmarried man and women to be alone together. And the quran clearly states that all infedels should be killed. It's just such a pathetic horrible religion, its hard not to be prejudiced. I pride myself on not being prejudiced. I pride myself on judging people individually. Yet, even though i have this core belief, i can not help but be prejudiced agains't Muslims. However this has nothing to do with Obama who is Christian.

I would be less likely to vote for a candidate who is muslim, mormon (ie Mitt), fundamentalist christian (ie Bush, Palin), or an orthodox jew not simply because of their religion, but because they will undoubtedly be socially conservative. Show me a socially liberal or even moderate candidate of any religion (or agnostic or atheist) and I will definitely consider them.

I wonder what the reaction and comments would be if a candidate was being smeared by his (or her) opponent for being agnostic or atheist or not belonging to an organized religion. My gut feeling is that it would be even worse than the smears for possibly being Muslim.

I don't think people should be imposing their religion, any religion, on their fellow Americans. It doesn't matter whether that imposition takes the form of a silent or all-out revolution. I wish someone would stand up for those of us who correctly identify all religious extremism as dangerous to democratic values. We shouldn't have to hand over our country to religious extremists of any ilk in the name of political correctness. While many evangelicals correctly identify religious extremism in others as a possible destructive force, they can't see the same in themselves.

OK, lets assume Obama is a Christian. For 20 years he sits in a church with an inflammatory pastor who utters racial and anti-American statements and doesn't find anything wrong with this until the media picks up on. COME ON - WAKE UP!

If he gets in you can bet your last dime he allows heavily populated muslim communities to adopt their own laws for their areas. This will be the down fall of this great nation.

where are the articles on McCain leading in Ohio and Florida?

Is there nothing to be said for his years attended at a Muslim school? Questioning his faith just because of his name and questioning it because he has a traceable Muslim background are different.
I've heard supporters of Obama's get angry when others question his religion at all - but running for leader of the Free World means we get to question everything. I think identifying his attendance to a Muslim school is a valid point.
To echo what Tim said, once we take him at his word when he says he is a Christian, even the church he attended is worrysome. At the very least, he is someone who attended a church that preached against whites. Had McCain had a history of attending a church that taught these sermons in reverse, saying this country should be only led by whites and that whites need to come together to make this a white nation, he wouldn't be the GOP nominee. He would have been crucified by the media. And despite having broken with the church, it doesn't reflect his non-belief in the preachings. He was a member of this church for years - he CHOSE this church. It had to be for a reason.
I'm simply disgusted that all of this was so quickly swept under the rug. Obama's religious background, whatever it is, is too uncertain and troublesome to lead our country.

The religion of a suspected perpetrator of a crime is never mentioned unless he is a Muslim. For example, CNN reported on the five "Muslims" who are accused of planning to bomb Fort Dix. Why didn't they say five residents of Phildelphia, or simply the five men who are accused? This is one example of Islamophobia. This reference affirms prejudices and prejudgement of those who may be innocent. The State Dept. has already dropped such tags.
The essences of Judaism, Christianity and Islam are the same: belief in the One Almighty God and taking the prophets he sent like Abraham, David, Solomon, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad as the best examples for mankind.

Well, as a Christian, and knowing what Muslims believe in, I certainly wouldn't want someone who belongs to a religion that believes that killing Jewish people and infidels is OK. Since we haven't seen Sen. Obama cover his heart during the Star Spangled Banner, or provide strong proof that he is not Muslim, then one has to wonder.

The level of racism and bigotry is exceeded only by the ignorance of people like Kevin, John, Jack and Graham (could your comment be more utterly stupid and devoid of any understanding of religion?!). Fundamentalists of all religions are all dangerous - do we not remember that prior to 9/11 the most egregious act of terrorism was from Christian white males (OK City). Furthermore, in order to understand the difference between what is cultural and what is religious. A lot of what we object to when we talk about Islam is really about Middle Eastern cultural beliefs and practices. The fact that we associate Islam only with the Middle East, taints our ability to understand the difference. For example, the teddy bear incident relates more to the cultural values about honor in hat society than it does about Islam. And much of what we admire about Christianity is based not upon the religion (which calls for the stoning of adulteresses) but upon western cultural values. That people feel comfortable extolling their bigotry against Islam and Muslims in this public forum speaks to how serious this is.

What troubles me the most, is that in 2008, it still matters what fictional character a person worships.

Islam does not believe that killing a person simply because he is a Jew or an unbeliever is okay. It only enjoins defensive wars under strict conditions as any impartial observer will see occurred in the era of the Prophet Muhammad. Those conditions have been rarely met in these times. What we see is that every good thing that has been given us by God is carried to extremes that cause harm to the innocent whether it be Judaism, Christianity, Islam, democracy, capitalism, etc. It is our disappointment with these systems that causes a Barack Obama to spring from the collective human consciousness to revive our hopes. What is the human being without hope? We would not consider God Just if such opportunities were not presented to us. We would not consider God Truthful in his promises of hearing our cries and relieving the oppressed and distressed. Please God, don't let our cries be in vain.

The point is not that a Muslim should not be permitted to become President, but that if Obama were actually a Muslim, that would mean that he has blatantly lied about his religion for as long as he's been in the public eye. That's the only issue, I think.

Obama should release a copy of his birth certificate (not the fake short copy he posted on his website) The prophet O's grandmother in Africa and half sister in Hawaii has different conflicted answer on where exactly the prophet was born. Sister says 2 different hospitals or not so sure which ones anymore.. But grandma had a different version, It was definitely in Kenya and according to her was witness by many relatives in a hospital in Kenya. SERIOUSLY, why can't Ojesus just release the original copy? Why hide? Does he thinks he was really the Messiah and was born in a menger during Jesus time that it is hard to get a record/copy for this? How did he even get this far in politics without full proof of his citizenship? Even an illegal allien can't get away with that fake copy like that at the border. That's hilarious!

Mr. Powell says:
"I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, 'Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.'
This is a incredibly vicious slur against Republicans. Please can anyone tell me which Republican leader ever said Obama was a Muslim?
There are far more liberal crackpots viciously attacking Gov Palin than nuts trying to prove Obama is a Muslim. Both groups shoud be ignored.

"45 percent of Americans said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who was Muslim" Hmm that's about the same percentage of Republicans. Coincidence?

Wow Powell is really impressing me, especially his comments that Obama "showed an intellectual curiosity" during the emergency ecomony meetings in D.C., which is probably code for "Obama is smarter than the other guy". I wonder why he is Republican (given that Rove says when someone has a lot of education they turn Democrat). Talking about smarts in this country is evidently more taboo than race. Not a single media outlet to my knowledge has put up McCain/Palin's education against Obama/Biden. Isn't your college and GPA at the top of YOUR curriculum vitae?

Check out this person, she went through something I pray we would never have to endure!! Americans are to trusting just like these people were!!
http://www.americancongressfortruth.com/

Tom Brokaw was a disgrace in this interview and should resign. When Powell asked. "Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president?" Any cub reporter would have immediately responed, "Well sir, why did Obama find it wrong for Muslim women dressed in traditional Islamic garb to appear in the audience behind him at his Detriot rally?" For me (a bartender) to know to ask this question, surely Brokaw did and bit his tongue to help Obama. Reference -- June 18, 2008 Muslims barred from picture at Obama event - Ben Smith - Politico.com

Analyst/comment 1: You said "Mccain cannot tolerate a black man beating him to the White House;" how does that square with Colin Powell saying "John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone i know" in the very article you are commenting on?

RicCA: you say that there is a "shortage of intelligence" in our country, but then name only conservatives. This is precisely the elitist, snobbish, we know better than everyone attitude so prevalent in CA, NY, MA and other liblands which has helped republicans win so many elections in the flyover states which you despise.

Leonag and Doug. Doug said that Islam was "spread by conversion" and Leonag says that Muslims were only engaged in "defensive wars." Doug, it was conversion at the point of a sword, all across North Africa, with the Muslim Arabian armies, right into Spain, and southern France. Leonag, what were the Muslim Turks 'defending' on the outskirts of Vienna as recently as 1683? That's quite a defensive perimeter for Mecca.

Dania Ahmad brings up the case of the Native Americans. Dania, are you going to set us all a good example by giving back your piece of America to our Natives because of your guilt?

Cisko, most egregiously, you lost all your credibility when you wrote "Christianity calls for the stoning of adulteresses." Read gospel of John, chapter 8; there Jesus PREVENTS the stoning of an adulteress, uttering the famous words "Let he who has no sin cast the first stone." Maybe it is thee that was 'stoned' when you commented?

What if Obama were a Muslim? It all comes down to the doctrine of jihad, which is admitted by all to be a central doctrine/practice of Islam.

You will hear those who say that jihad always means 9/11 style terrorism, but that is wrong.

You will hear those who say that it always means attempts at internal struggle within the individual Muslim for self-improvement, but that too is inadequate.

I have read many books on the subject. Both have support in the Quran. The best scholarship i can find so far tells me that, when one encounters two verses in the Quran that seem to contradict one another, then the one found 'later' in the Quran is the controlling one, that it was Allah or Mohammed's most considered thought on a given topic. Unfortunately, in the case of jihad, the verses get more violently aggressive toward the non-Muslim as the Book goes on.

So in the case of Obama, or any other Muslim who would be president, one would have to strictly scrutinize whether he or she were an 'early Quranist' on jihad or 'late Quranist,' just like we would not allow a so-called Christian, Catholic or Protestant, who was on either side of the late Irish terrorist campaigns, to become president.

The ignorance here is startling. The most viscous killing macnine ever invented is the Bible. People who believe that Jesus is more than an interesting figure of literature are imbeciles, but we have to corral and coddle them all day every day. Burn the damned Bibles and send the idiots to reeducation camps in the Rocky Mountains or the Yukon. Wake up people the ignorant have too much power.

Here is Barack Obama's birth Certificate:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/06/obama-birth.html

And actually it does not matter where he was born, unless you also think his mother was not a US citizen. A child born to a US citizen is always a US citizen whether they were born in the US, or Tanzania.

McCain is the only one we know was not born in the US, he was born in Panama. Though since his parents were American citizens, he is also.

actually here's a better link to Obamas birth certificate:

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html

CK from 10/21 @ 1:03 pm

Who died and left you the judge of others' intelligence? How about starting with spellcheck, viscious, not your "viscous."

If you were as omniscient as you think, you would know that if any book were the "most viscious killing machine" it would be the Communist Manifesto, followed quickly by the manuals which constructed the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, probably written by mostly agnostic or atheistic scientists.

RE: Here is Barack Obama's birth Certificate:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/06/obama-birth.html

And actually it does not matter where he was born, unless you also think his mother was not a US citizen. A child born to a US citizen is always a US citizen whether they were born in the US, or Tanzania.

GOOD ONE!
What happen to the original document?
Where is the hospital name?
Doctors name who delivered the Messiah? opps sorry he was born in the menger..
What happen to the Witnessnes name?
Did he weight anything when he was born? nope scale wasn't invented yet.
FYI, Did you forgot the Messiah had work for Acorn as a community organizer? Acorn = FatChecks.org, dig deeper my friends.. keep trying!

My first grader proudly told me about the October holidays she learned about: Yom Kippur, Columbus Day, and Eid. Admittedly, she lives here in a blue part of a blue state, but as she grows up with Muslim classmates, she won't view Muslims as being any more dangerous than Jews or Italians (both groups of which were once viewed as dangerous others by white Protestants).

It looks exactly like this one:
http://bp1.blogger.com/_orkXxp0bhEA/SGeRIwgtZ2I/AAAAAAAAHGI/RLkO1Ohs2qg/s1600-h/birth-certificate-real-hawaii.jpg
And you still haven't responded to the fact that his mother is a US Citizen, and therefore so is he, regardless of where he was born. Unless you don't believe his mother actually gave birth to him.
Also factcheck.org is a product of the Annenberg foundation, which is the same foundation that Obama worked for, However the president and chairwoman of the foundation, Leonore Annenberg, has endorsed John McCain

Er, ah, Joel from 10/21 2:33 pm, I am delighted that your first grade daughter learned about Yom Kippur and Eid in presumably? public school. But wherefore lump Columbus day in with them, as if it were somehow comparable for Christians or Catholics? Columbus day is a civic holi-day, not a religious holy-day, so it does not illustrate the diversity you imply. And its a controversial holi-day to say the least, with many regretting the European invasion/discovery, take your pick.
Now, if your daughter had been taught that October 31 is Reformation Day, or that October 4th was the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, respected by many non-Catholics, or that the school-universally celebrated Halloween was originally All Hallow's Eve, the Eve of all the Hallowed Saints (Nov. 1), then i would be impressed.
I grew up on the South Shore of Boston in the '60's. My 2nd grade public school teacher was named Miss Jacoby,(no relation to the wonderful Jeff, as far as i know) who looking back was probably all of 23 years old. My life was immensely enriched by learning about dreadles and menorahs, nor did any of us feel proselytized, nor did anyone convert as far as i know. The only thing we thought odd about her was she called Mahk "Mork", and a cup of "corfee." With religion anti-septicly scoured from schools now, it leads to the ignorance, suspicion and violence noted above. The Founders of our nation forbade any one religion or denomination from being "established," but other than that they had an attitude toward religion best described as 'positive neutrality.'

do not forget that it was not the republicans who spewes this nonsense. it was the clinton campaign, and i think that they are democrats! it is, however, understandable that americans fear arab or any other kind of muslims as we see the death and destruction on television every day from iraq, afghanistan, the phillipines, lebanon, israel, the west bank, gaza strip, pakistan, morocco, algeria, etc.. these atrocities are committed by muslims. sometimes against other muslims or against anyone else they consider to be non-believers. they might be radicals, but the truth of the matter is that they are muslim. most if not all of this disgusting behavior is committed by muslims. i am not saying that most muslims are terrorists, but i am saying that most terrorists are muslims. if they do not want to be viewed with disgust and/or suspicion, then stop the nayseating behavior.

Who has explained "Love your neighbor as yourself" in the above comments? I believe that every major religion has some form of our Christian Golden Rule which is the heart of Colin Powell's statement. At 81 I am very disheartened to read most of the essays that appear because it seems to me that everyone is trying to get one another in unhealthy, unloving ways. Why can we try to show how we can share and take care of one another by following a leader who wants us all to live together in peace and harmony.

RE: It looks exactly like this one:
http://bp1.blogger.com/_orkXxp0bhEA/SGeRIwgtZ2I/AAAAAAAAHGI/RLkO1Ohs2qg/s1600-h/birth-certificate-real-hawaii.jpg
And you still haven't responded to the fact that his mother is a US Citizen, and therefore so is he, regardless of where he was born. Unless you don't believe his mother actually gave birth to him.

Have you heard of the of Jus Sanguinis doctrine?
You must be natural born US citizen to run for office. No exception! Again what is he hiding or scared about?
How about in his highly documented speech at the 2004 Democratic convention saying that he was never been a Muslim? When in fact to be able to get accepted at an Indonesia public school, one must carry a Karty Tanda Pendudaks, only a person of Indonesian citizen can have this privileges. Daddy Soetero listed him as a Muslim student and Indonesian citizen. That alone would disqualify anyone from getting a job at CIA or FBI. Question of loyalty would surely be an issue.
According to Ojesus;
"I traveled to Pakistan when I was in college – I knew what Sunni and Shia was before I joined the Senate Foreign Relations Committee," Obama reportedly stated at a fundraising event.
GEEZ America! wake-up! how much clue do we need to hear from this guy? What was he doing in Pakistan??

RE: Also factcheck.org is a product of the Annenberg foundation, which is the same foundation that Obama worked for, However the president and chairwoman of the foundation, Leonore Annenberg, has endorsed John McCain.

Yes, that's the same as someone robbed a bank but would also like to be known as the advocate againts all bank robbers. How convenient.. Im sure Americans are not as dumb as you think.

Arlene, you are right that most every religion has some form of the Golden Rule; certaily Jesus knew that he was not being original, that he was summarizing the essence of his (humanly) Jewish religion. But then you go and identify the Golden Rule with what Colin Powell said, and talk about "a leader who wants us all to live together in peace and harmony." Would i be wrong in guessing that you mean Sen. Obama? So that pretty much works out to you saying that a true follower of Jesus would vote for Obama?

No offence, but i think Sen. McCain would like us all to live in peace and harmony too. But maybe his method of getting to that universally agreed goal is different from Sen. Obama's. Even Sen. Obama swears he will use the military when necessary. And let's not forget that Colin Powell was a general, so he sent men and women to their deaths, so i'm not sure he is the incarnation of peace and harmony.

Besides, sometimes 'loving one's neighbor' can mean saying something to him that might sound harsh, like screaming "look out, you're driving off a cliff" or "i love you, so please stop taking drugs" so sometimes a candidate (usually one with whom we disagree) says something that sounds harsh or unloving, but it could be conceivably for the nation's good.

The images of the terrorists' destruction are still burned in my mind. The building destroyed. The smoke and rubble. The hatred manifested in suffering of innocents. It was the deadliest attack on American soil in our history. And I blame their religion. And I blame their ideologies.

And I am talking about a Christian and his cohorts who attacked America in Oklahoma in 1995. Ever since, I have advocated the expulsion of Christians from this country, or at minimum, the ban on Christians holding office, because clearly, they are enemiies of America.

Wabam! How about a little dose of self-awareness.

RE: The images of the terrorists' destruction are still burned in my mind. The building destroyed. The smoke and rubble. The hatred manifested in suffering of innocents. It was the deadliest attack on American soil in our history. And I blame their religion. And I blame their ideologies.
And I am talking about a Christian and his cohorts who attacked America in Oklahoma in 1995. Ever since, I have advocated the expulsion of Christians from this country, or at minimum, the ban on Christians holding office, because clearly, they are enemiies of America.

So called Christian enemies never declared himself killing for Jesus. However, being a Facist and a white supremist like Mcveigh, he does carry the same hate ideology as Muslim religion to kill simply because someone is different. He was never supported or endorsed by the US government, the people or even the Pope or 99.9% of Christians religious leaders. Unlike your favorite terrorist guys in the Middle East who are widely supported by thier people and government and 99.9% of Muslim religious leaders. That's the difference. Before the Oklahoma attack, 95% of terrorist attack around the world was of Muslim origin. Try vindicating that?

Thank you Colin Powell for at LONG LAST expressing what I've believed about you for years. I believe that George '41 shares your views but is just too reluctant to criticize his son's actions over the last eight years.
It is sad to see the resemblance of the relationship of G.W. to his dad as compared to the relationship between John McCain and his Dad, Admiral John McCain. Both sons seemed dedicated to succeed where the Dads had failed.
cf. Michael Kranish's "For McCain, father's error holds lesson". [Globe 10-22-08]