% of Americans who Believe Obama is a Muslim is Rising

[Infohawk]

"Nearly one in five people, or 18 percent, said they think Obama is Muslim, up from the 11 percent who said so in March 2009, according to a poll released Thursday. The proportion who correctly say he is a Christian is just 34 percent, down from 48 percent in March of last year."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100820/ap_on_re_us/us_obama_urban_legends

Pretty sad, but not surprising. If Obama says he's not a muslim, that's good enough for me. True believers don't generally deny their religious beliefs. (And conversely if Osama Bin Laden says he's a muslim, I take his statement at face value.)

Does anyone here want to admit they think Obama is a muslim?

 

[theeedude]

They should ask this one on IQ tests.

 

[Infohawk]

Honest question: Is it possible people are just saying he's a muslim as a way to express their distaste for him?

If someone polled me asking me if Dick Cheney was actually Darth Vader I might want to respond with a yes.

 

[dahunan]

Colin Powell was a Christian that lied to the whole world so the USA could kill innocent people in Iraq and label it collateral damage

 

[sandorski]

Honest question: Is it possible people are just saying he's a muslim as a way to express their distaste for him?

If someone polled me asking me if Dick Cheney was actually Darth Vader I might want to respond with a yes.

Maybe if they're stupid.

 

[JEDIYoda]

As I heard a radio talk show host say this morning -- that is 1 ion 5 idiots!!

 

[cubby1223]

Take a poll and get 20 percent respond that Obama is a Muslin...

And I content that means 19.999 percent of respondents don't care to answer truthfully in polls.

Seriously, does anyone here personally know anyone who believes he is a Muslim? Of course not.

 

[StageLeft]

Some probably answer just for distaste. I often answer polls online stupidly just to mess up the figure because the poll irritates me. I bet at least half, though, are answering because they think it's the case.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

its all about context

are the people answering truthfully believing that he is a muslim, or are they considering it in a derogatory fashion?

kind of like calling someone "gay" purely for simple derogatory inflection and not actually trying to infer they have homosexual tendencies

 

[Double Trouble]

... and that poll was taken *before* the whole mosque thing happened. I'd imagine the numbers are even higher now.

I don't think he's a muslim, any more than I think he's a christian. He's whatever he needs to say he is to win elections, like every other politician.

 

[khon]

That's politics 101 for you. The truth doesn't matter, only public perception does, and many on the rightwing has been working overtime driving this one home.

 

[rudeguy]

That's politics 101 for you. The truth doesn't matter, only public perception does, and many on the rightwing has been working overtime driving this one home.

Really? Can you provide some links that shows the rightwing "working overtime" on this?

I would think Obama's sympathizing with the terrorist enemy would be enough to give people this impression without the rightwing "working overtime" on it.

 

[Red Dawn]

I bet a large percentage of those are regular Faux Noise viewers

 

[Moonbeam]

If you want to destroy people who are elected you smear them. The brain dead can't distinguish between smears and truth. Smear somebody long enough and folk believe it's true. Some monkeys throw sticks at leopards because other monkeys hoot when they see them.

 

[Hacp]

If he is a Muslim, so what? Whats more important is that he's planning on ruining the country through high union wages and taxes on productive people in the private sector.

 

[rudder]

well he is stuffing his face during ramadan... while on his 6th vacation this year. Lets focus on that.

 

[Mursilis]

well he is stuffing his face during ramadan...

The depths to which he'll go to hide the fact he's a Muslim only prove it's true!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[CallMeJoe]

No one in this world has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.
H.L. Mencken

 

[DesiPower]

 

[werepossum]

... and that poll was taken *before* the whole mosque thing happened. I'd imagine the numbers are even higher now.

I don't think he's a muslim, any more than I think he's a christian. He's whatever he needs to say he is to win elections, like every other politician.

This is what I believe also. I do know people who think he is a Muslim though, based on his behavior (which ironically is no different from Carter's, whom no one thinks is a Muslim.)

Of course, by Muslim law he is a Muslim, albeit an apostate one, as he was born to a Muslim father and spent his youngest years as a Muslim. Christians though are supposed to embrace the choice of religion; as our whole concept of salvation depends on that choice, the fact that one spent some years (or most of a lifetime) as a Muslim is irrelevant to one's being a Christian.

If he is a Muslim, so what? Whats more important is that he's planning on ruining the country through high union wages and taxes on productive people in the private sector.

To be precise, neither high wages nor taxes on productive people necessarily ruin the country. It's only when those wages are disproportionate to the productivity and when taxes pass the point of diminishing returns that the country is harmed. High wages in and of themselves merely reduce the value of the currency, for example, and are arguably desirable in producing a more even distribution between wage earners and resource owners. Personally I think the outsourcing of wealth-producing jobs to other countries has been far more harmful to this country than either taxation or high wages - although admittedly both contribute to that outsourcing.

 

[DesiPower]

This is what I believe also. I do know people who think he is a Muslim though, based on his behavior (which ironically is no different from Carter's, whom no one thinks is a Muslim.)

Of course, by Muslim law he is a Muslim, albeit an apostate one, as he was born to a Muslim father and spent his youngest years as a Muslim. Christians though are supposed to embrace the choice of religion; as our whole concept of salvation depends on that choice, the fact that one spent some years (or most of a lifetime) as a Muslim is irrelevant to one's being a Christian.

OMG you are bigot, you are unamericana, you are dimwit, you are redneck, you are teabagger, you are a disgrace to the country, ppl like you bring shame to America.

/summary of incoming liberal posts - brace for impact

 

[Jaskalas]

Seriously, does anyone here personally know anyone who believes he is a Muslim? Of course not.

I know a couple like that. If you want to know why, look at it this way.

They don't understand why the Left would defend Islam as frevently as they do. Then you have our first (half) Black President who has a foreign background and intimate personal knowledge of having lived in a Muslim country for some time during his childhood. He's the first Democratic President since September 11th.

Those combination of factors leads to a misunderstanding. They don't understand why ANYONE would defend Islam the way Obama does. All they see is him and he gets the blame for the Democratic party's policy, not only because he's the figure head but because he's different. This difference allows a stereotype to form.

"Oh, he defends Islam because he's Muslim".

As opposed to something much closer to the truth.

"Oh, he defends Islam because he's a Democrat".

People who think he's Muslim are real. They don't understand Democrats or the President.

 

[PricklyPete]

Seriously, does anyone here personally know anyone who believes he is a Muslim? Of course not.

Unfortunately I do...and I have lost respect for these people as it is evident they are just repeating crap they've heard from some alarmist conspiracy theorist or their church pastor.

 

[Sinsear]

I know a couple like that. If you want to know why, look at it this way.

They don't understand why the Left would defend Islam as frevently as they do. Then you have our first (half) Black President who has a foreign background and intimate personal knowledge of having lived in a Muslim country for some time during his childhood. He's the first Democratic President since September 11th.

Those combination of factors leads to a misunderstanding. They don't understand why ANYONE would defend Islam the way Obama does. All they see is him and he gets the blame for the Democratic party's policy, not only because he's the figure head but because he's different. This difference allows a stereotype to form.

"Oh, he defends Islam because he's Muslim".

As opposed to something much closer to the truth.

"Oh, he defends Islam because he's a Democrat".

People who think he's Muslim are real. They don't understand Democrats or the President.

Nail. Head. /Thread.

 

[CitizenKain]

Should we be surprised that the rightwing is getting consistently dumber?