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Line 1: − + − As a contentious political figure in a highly charged election, Obama has been the target of much scrutiny. While some legitimate concerns have been raised, a great deal of misinformation has been spread by opponents of his candidacy. In an effort to present their side of the story, the Obama campaign has set up Fight the Smears <ref>http://www.fightthesmears.com/</ref>, a website devoted to presenting evidence to debunk or soften many of the attacks against him.+ − − __TOC__ <!--Please do not remove this. We want to keep the "insights" on the first screen of viewing--> + − + Line 20:
Line 19: − *The odds of Obama being truthful in his claim that he converted to Christianity are less than 100 to 1 against it, as fewer than 1% of Muslims convert to Christianity.<ref>http://www.faithfreedom.org/oped/sina31103.htm</ref>+ − *With regards to his "57 states" remark (see above), it has been observed that there are 57 [[Islamic]] states and Obama was educated at an [[Islamic]] grade school while he lived in an [[Islamic]] country.<ref>http://www.stoptheaclu.com/archives/2008/05/12/obamas-freudian-slip-there-are-57-islamic-states/</ref> − Most of these statements, however, are wholly inaccurate. The others are just misleading.+ − − + + − − Obama is widely considered an eloquent orator, though critics point out that he delivered his most popular speeches with the aid of a [[teleprompter]], and that without prepared text he has a tendency to pause before giving answers. However, in both of the McCain-Obama debates held so far (the first in Oxford, MS on September 26, the second in Nashville, TN on October 7), polled viewers generally said Obama won the debates, despite not having a teleprompter <ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26915336/</ref> <ref>http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008242908_debatepoll09.html</ref>. − − As with any political figure, Obama's statements have been scrutinized in depth. Often his opponents and their supporters take his quotes out of context, or present innocuous misstatements as damning examples of ignorance or incompetence. For instance, Obama said, "Throughout our history, America's confronted constantly evolving danger, from the oppression of an empire, to the lawlessness of the frontier, '''from the bomb that fell on Pearl Harbor''', to the threat of nuclear annihilation."<ref>http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/07/obama_ignorance_watch_1.asp</ref> Likewise, Obama claimed to have visited 57 states while campaigning for president of the United States, which of course has only 50 states.<ref> [http://www.mediaresearch.org/BozellColumns/newscolumn/2008/col20080528.asp Barack Potatoe Obama?]</ref> −
Reverted edits by Twilightknock (Talk); changed back to last version by ASmith
''"Obama" redirects here. For other uses see [[Obama (disambiguation)]].''
''"Obama" redirects here. For other uses see [[Obama (disambiguation)]].''
'''Barack Hussein Obama, II''' (born in Honolulu,<ref>MSM Ignores Democrat Lawsuit Against Obama[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2008/08/22/msm-ignores-democrat-lawsuit-against-obama]</ref> <ref>[http://www.factcheck.org/UploadedFiles/birth_certificate_5.jpg Large, high-resolution picture of his birth certificate]</ref> August 4, 1961) is the 2008 nominee of the [[Democratic Party]] for [[President of the United States of America|president]].<ref>[http://www.democrats.org Democratic Party website]</ref> Obama has served as a freshman [[Democratic]] [[Senator]] from [[Illinois]] since 2004. On August 23 he chose [[Senator Joseph Biden]] as his running mate. In 2007, Obama was rated the most [[liberal]] Senator by the National Journal, who had rated [[Senator John Kerry]] the most liberal senator during his presidential run as well.<ref>http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/</ref> If elected, Obama would become the first [[African American]] [[President]] of the [[United States]].
'''Barack Hussein Obama, II''' (born, allegedly, in Honolulu,<ref>MSM Ignores Democrat Lawsuit Against Obama[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2008/08/22/msm-ignores-democrat-lawsuit-against-obama]</ref><ref>[http://www.factcheck.org/UploadedFiles/birth_certificate_5.jpg Large, high-resolution picture of his birth certificate]</ref> August 4, 1961) is the 2008 nominee of the [[Democratic Party]] for [[President of the United States of America|president]].<ref>[http://www.democrats.org Democratic Party website]</ref> Obama has served as a freshman [[Democratic]] [[Senator]] from [[Illinois]] since 2004. On August 23 he chose [[Senator Joseph Biden]] as his running mate. In 2007, Obama was rated the most [[liberal]] Senator by the National Journal, who had rated [[Senator John Kerry]] the most liberal senator during his presidential run as well.<ref>http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/</ref> If elected, Obama may become the first [[Muslim]] [[President]] of the [[United States]].
[[Image:Democrat Obama during the Pledge.jpg|325px|thumb|right|Obama, on the campaign trail, stands with folded hands while [[Bill Richardson]] and [[Hillary Clinton]] honor the flag by placing their hands over their heart during the [[National Anthem]].]]
[[Image:Democrat Obama during the Pledge.jpg|325px|thumb|right|Obama, on the campaign trail, stands with folded hands while [[Bill Richardson]] and [[Hillary Clinton]] honor the flag by placing their hands over their heart during the [[National Anthem]].]]
Obama almost always reads from prepared text on a [[teleprompter]] and rarely allows tough questions.<ref>After one debate against [[Hillary Clinton]] in Philadelphia, the Obama campaign announced that the questions were too difficult and that Obama would not agree to future debates with her.</ref><ref name="teleprompter">http://www.weeklystandard.com/content/public/articles/000/000/014/728ofzey.asp</ref> Indeed, when unable to read from prepared text he often fails miserably at articulating his positions and is caught tripping over his own feet, as displayed in the Saddleback Forum. The first McCain-Obama debate was held in Mississippi on September 26 and, without a teleprompter, Obama stumbled further. The second McCain-Obama debate was held on October 7, and had a Town Hall format.
Obama displayed ignorance about American history when he said, "Throughout our history, America's confronted constantly evolving danger, from the oppression of an empire, to the lawlessness of the frontier, '''from the bomb that fell on Pearl Harbor''', to the threat of nuclear annihilation."<ref>http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/07/obama_ignorance_watch_1.asp</ref>
==Obama and Islam==
==Obama and Islam==
Obama is not a Muslim. However, some of his opponents and their supporters either believe he could be, or intentionally present debunked information or inconsequential coincidence as evidence that he is in an effort to damage his public image and raise doubts among an American public who sometimes mistakenly believe terrorism is synonymous with Islam. Some examples of such statements include:
Obama is likely to be Muslim because:
*Obama's background and education are [[Muslim]]
*Obama's background and education are [[Muslim]]
*Obama's claims of conversion to Christianity arose after he became politically ambitious, lacking a date of conversion or baptism.<ref>In his book, Obama oddly claims to have been baptized without giving his age or date, and later gave a date that postdates his political ambition (1992).</ref>
*Obama's claims of conversion to Christianity arose after he became politically ambitious, lacking a date of conversion or baptism.<ref>In his book, Obama oddly claims to have been baptized without giving his age or date, and later gave a date that postdates his political ambition (1992).</ref>
*Obama maintained Kenyan citizenship until 1982. Additionally, as a person of some affluence, it is very likely that he was involved in pushing for the single-party system in Kenya at that time and therefore was responsible, at least indirectly, for the atrocities that occurred
*Obama maintained Kenyan citizenship until 1982. Additionally, as a person of some affluence, it is very likely that he was involved in pushing for the single-party system in Kenya at that time and therefore was responsible, at least indirectly, for the atrocities that occurred
'''The odds of Obama being truthful in his claim that he converted to Christianity are less than 100 to 1 against it, as fewer than 1% of Muslims convert to Christianity.'''<ref>http://www.faithfreedom.org/oped/sina31103.htm</ref>
Obama claimed to have visited 57 states while campaigning for president of the United States, which of course has only 50 states.<ref> [http://www.mediaresearch.org/BozellColumns/newscolumn/2008/col20080528.asp Barack Potatoe Obama?]</ref> He could never explain where the false number of 57 came from, but it has been observed that there are 57 [[Islamic]] states and Obama was educated at an [[Islamic]] grade school while he lived in an [[Islamic]] country.<ref>http://www.stoptheaclu.com/archives/2008/05/12/obamas-freudian-slip-there-are-57-islamic-states/</ref>
Obama downplays his [[Islamic]] background by claiming that his [[Kenya|Kenyan]] [[Muslim]] father was a "confirmed [[atheist]]" before Obama was born. Less than 1% of Kenyans are atheists, agnostics or non-religious<ref>http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_14.html</ref>, but this does not mean Obama's father was not part of that 1%. There is apparently no evidence of any Christian activities or local church participation by Obama while he was in Massachusetts from 1988 to 1991. Finally, Obama abruptly left his church in Chicago in 2008 when it became politically controversial, without first finding another church to join.
Obama downplays his [[Islamic]] background by claiming that his [[Kenya|Kenyan]] [[Muslim]] father was a "confirmed [[atheist]]" before Obama was born, but in fact less than 1% of Kenyans are atheists, agnostics or non-religious.<ref>http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_14.html</ref> There is apparently no evidence of any Christian activities or local church participation by Obama while he was in Massachusetts from 1988 to 1991. Finally, Obama abruptly left his church in Chicago in 2008 when it became politically controversial, without first finding another church to join.
__TOC__ <!--Please do not remove this. We want to keep the "insights" on the first screen of viewing-->
==Obama and Elitism==
==Obama and Elitism==
Asked to explain why working-class [[Democrats]] do not support him while campaigning for the [[Pennsylvania]] primary, Obama replied "it's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7344532.stm</ref> In response to outrage when his remarks were unexpectedly publicized, Obama replied, I "didn't say it as well as I should have."<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7344532.stm</ref>
Asked to explain why working-class [[Democrats]] do not support him while campaigning for the [[Pennsylvania]] primary, Obama replied "it's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7344532.stm</ref> In response to outrage when his remarks were unexpectedly publicized, Obama replied, I "didn't say it as well as I should have."<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7344532.stm</ref>