Fishwrap Journalism
I don’t know why people are surprised by this total lack of professionalism by the legacy media™, they do it to Democratic candidates all the time.
The CBS News web site featured the story by Perry Bacon Jr. that appeared on the front page of the Washington Post: Obama Dogged By Muslim Rumors Washington Post: Foes Use Candidate’s Muslim Ties To Fuel Speculation About His Faith.
The rumors weren’t being spread as quickly or widely as the corporate media wanted, so they opened the front page of a national newspaper to the bottom feeders. There is no investigation of what is being said, just the repetition of the garbage.
When this story first appeared it took me less than an hour to figure out what was going on. The sources that you need are on the ‘Net, and in English. Several European media operations contacted reporters in the area where Obama’s family lived and determined the entire scenario was bogus.
Pathetic.
6 comments
the rumor-mongering is reprehensible, but i think it’d be pretty cool to have a muslim president, especially one who’s also black.
I’m a bit old-fashioned, I think the founders really meant it when they said there shouldn’t be a religious test for office. I’m really not interested in someone else’s religion, unless the knowledge is useful in a social setting, or if it’s an important part of the life in a country I’m visiting and could get me thrown in jail if I name a stuffed toy the wrong thing.
Keith Ellison for president.
Well, Michael, at least they would get a real Muslim that way, and not have to lie about it. I think the fact he was sworn in using Jefferson’s Koran was a marvelous piece of theater.
keith ellison for president! hard to argue with peace, prosperity for working families, environmental sustainability, and civil and human rights. another couple of congressional terms under his belt, and who knows….
using jefferson’s quran was marvelous indeed, and not just for the symbolism. i got a real kick out of the sound of heads exploding all over the place.
i was vaguely aware of some of the other controversies surrounding ellison, but i haven’t taken the time to sort out whether they’re legitimate, or just racist attacks by the opposition. i’m not planning to move to minnesota, not ever, so i figure this doesn’t need my immediate attention.
i’m opposed to religious tests for office too, but we’ve had a couple two three white male christian presidents already. the moment even one of those glass ceilings gets smashed it will be a nice step forward for social justice in this country.
Well, there was Theodore Roosevelt as a mainstream Protestant who took G-d off the money as sacrilegious, but was overruled by Congress, and James Earl Carter as the Evangelical. Most of the others are not very identifiable with any known or understood faith, based on their actions, and would be in deep yogurt if tested on their adherence to the known principles of their purported religion. It’s amazing how many would fail on the rather universal standard of the “Golden Rule.”
It might be interesting if anyone who claimed a religious faith was required to prove it.