In Ohio, some of smeared Obama's strongest words yet: "I pray to Jesus every night."

[DeepModem Mom]

NY Post: SMEARED O HAS 'CROSS' WORDS
DECLARES AT RALLY: 'I PRAY TO JESUS' (NOT ALLAH)
By GEOFF EARLE, Post Correspondent

March 3, 2008 -- TOLEDO, Ohio - Barack Obama yesterday lashed out at political enemies who are spreading false rumors that he's a closet Muslim as he proclaimed, "I pray to Jesus every night."

"I am a devout Christian," he told voters in this key state.

"I pray to Jesus every night and try to go to church as much as I can."

In some of his strongest comments to date, Obama, in response to a question about his religious beliefs, said he wanted to put an end to "so much confusion (that has been) deliberately perpetrated."

Obama's bid to end the rumor-mongering came just days after his campaign accused Hillary Rodham Clinton of launching a deliberate smear after the Drudge Report Web site reported that one of her staffers had forwarded photos of him wearing a turban on a 2006 trip to Africa.

In addition, numerous e-mails have circulated for months saying falsely that Obama is a Muslim. Obama's late father, who was from Kenya, was a Christian who converted to Islam, though he was not religious. Obama himself was never a Muslim and has been a member of the same Christian church for the last 20 years.

On a recent visit to Cleveland, The Post conducted an informal survey of about a dozen people and found that most didn't know Obama's faith - and many incorrectly assumed he was a Muslim. Some Ohio Democrats even thought he had sworn the oath of office while holding the Koran - another false Internet rumor.

Trying to reassure voters yesterday, Obama told the audience in rural Nelsonville that they would feel right at home in his church in Chicago....

http://www.nypost.com/seven/03032008/news/nationalnews/smeared_o_has_cross_words_100255.htm

[Tarc]

1. We just had 8 years of a "devout Christian". Do we really want another?

(D) or(R) or whatever, this has never been something I've seen as a desirable selling point.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

2. So then what's Clinton if not a devout Christian?

Jew? Muslim? Buddhist? Wiccan?

[nonconformist]

7. Is she talking about it all the time and talking like an evangelist at her rallies?

Is she hiring ex-gay activist preachers for her events?

[JVS]

10. Maybe that's because nobody seems to try to imply white methodists are really muslims in disguise...

trying to help the terraists win

[madrchsod]

29. oh my god--you found out!

\the secret is out---all methodist`s secret middle name is Hussein..

[JVS]

31. Methodism, the foulest of heresies.

Film at 11!

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

13. She was on the 700 Club last week...

so you tell me.

[Barack_America]

36. Wait, what?

Do you have a link to this?

That would be shocking, if true.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

37. ...

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&tab=wn&ned=us&q=hillary+clinton+700+club&btnG=Search+News

[Barack_America]

38. Wow. How did I miss that.

Truly shocking.

[LittleClarkie]

44. As a Christian and a Democrat, I find that entirely more disturbing then Obama saying he prays

I grew up in Virginia, where the 700 Club always seemed to be on. I thought that was what a Christian was supposed to be like. I thought I was second hand because I wasn't like them.

That demented leprechan makes my teeth itch.

[MadHound]

17. No, she just goes to her super secret meetings with The Fellowship,

And hobnobs with the likes of Santorum and Brownback, you know, those fine folks who would love to see a theocracy in this country. <http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/09/hillarys-prayer.html>

[Tarc]

8. You're missing the point

Being a part of a religion is one thing. Yet another politician who makes it a central theme of their life is not something I want to have again, ever. All the faith-based programs and shit of the previous administration need to be ended.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

11. Is Hillary Clinton's opponent questioning her religion...

and implying she's a muslim terrorist?

[rox63]

18. He is doing this to counter the lies being spread about him

His denomination (UCC) is one of the most liberal Christian denominations out there.

[berni_mccoy]

42. No, you are missing the point. He's forced to state it loud and clear because the Clinton campaign

has labelled him as a Muslim, starting a disgusting email campaign in Ohio, a predominantly Christian state.

Watch how Clinton adds to the confusion here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7eAnx6Vxrs

[ContinentalOp]

15. "So then what's Clinton if not a devout Christian?"

I have no reason to believe that she's a Satanist. She says that she's not and I take her at her word. There's really no evidence that she's a Satanist ... AS FAR AS I KNOW. wink wink nudge nudge

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Tarc]

5. Zip it, please. It isn't bigotry to not want another one of these

"guided by God" types in the White House?

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

14. Yes It Is.

And your statements make you look ignorant.

[Tarc]

22. If that is what you still get out of it, thne you're kind of an idiot

:shrug:

[OhioChick]

20. Thank you. n/t

[LittleClarkie]

40. Depends on if that devout Christian actually acts like one. I don't expect Obama to hide his faith

If that is part of his moral makeup then so be it. Fine with me. I hope he uses it to make good decisions.

I don't think his faith is the same as Bush's. Obama doesn't claim to be a fundamentalist.

[leftofcool]

4. Nothing wrong with any religion

[Bucky]

6. How is praying every night and going to church 'when I can' considered "strong"?

[DeepModem Mom]

12. I think the idea is that Obama used different words this time --

I think I heard on TV that he was frustrated with the question -- to emphasize that he is not a Muslim, but a Christian. Praying to Jesus every night, going to church often, would, one would think, be convincing proof that one is a Christian.

[OhioChick]

9. My Guess

is he's trying to clear his name from all the Muslim talk as of late.

I see nothing wrong with his statement.

[DeepModem Mom]

19. That's the issue. I saw footage on MSNBC this morning with Ohio voters...

one of whom had bought everything in the circulating e-mail about Obama being a Muslim.

[Beausoir]

16. If he can keep his religion out of his politics...fine.

[Tarc]

21. That's what I am trying to get at in my earlier post, which some found too confusing apparently

One of Kerry's best moments in the 04 race was when he explained his position on abortion, that he was personally against it in keeping with his Catholicism, but he would not allow that to dictate his approach or policy on it as president.

I don't get that same vibe from Obama.

[RoadRage]

23. I've seen nothing he's done or voted for so far to be contrary to that..

He has done nothing to push his or anyone elses religion into any of his policies. He's for gay rights, pro-choice, stem-cell research. Those are issues that I associate with religion, so thus far he's passed the test with flying colors.

[jaxx]

24. He could keep it out if his opponent didn't keep putting it in,

and in the most snarky way possible......as far as I know.

[Beausoir]

25. Hillary made Obama hire Donny McClurkin to bash gays in order to pander for votes?

Nice try.

[jaxx]

26. I like ridiculous, it makes me laugh.

Thanks for a good one.

[Beausoir]

27. Glad to repay the favor.

[madrchsod]

28. sad that he has to do this because of his "middle" name

[Enrique]

30. I don't believe him

call me cynical, but I don't think Obama actually prays to Jesus every night. :shrug:

[Vinca]

33. But Hillary, on the other hand, is quite sincere . . . right?

Throughout her time at the White House, Clinton writes in Living History, she took solace from "daily scriptures" sent to her by her Fellowship prayer cell . . .
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1329/is_5_32/ai_n19492958/pg_3

[Enrique]

34. no

I don't believe her either.

[oasis]

35. Maybe because he can't go to church anymore since his pastor's a Farrakhan groupie.

:shrug:

[Dhalgren]

32. Yuck! Sickening...

:puke:

[LittleClarkie]

39. I pray. I go to church. I am a liberal Democrat.

Problem?

[Beausoir]

41. Not a problem for me.

[DeepModem Mom]

45. Not at all. The point of this article, my OP, is IMO about Obama's not being a Muslim...

about his attempt to bat down the persistent rumors, the circulating e-mail, which people believe. I don't think it's about his religiosity, and the extent of it. I think he would simply like to set straight once and for all that he is a Christian, and not a Muslim. I regret that this thread is taken up with arguments over religion in politics. That's not the issue here. The issue here is rumor, gullibility, and Swiftboating.

In short, I think this is more about his praying to Jesus, than his praying.

On edit: I'm an Episcopalian, and proud to say it. (Except for the fact that anti-gay people are trying to tear my Church apart.)

[mmonk]

43. I have become more steadfast agnostic over the last several years

because of religion as a weapon and a prejudice in this backward nation. I used to not talk like this. But dirty politics and a bag full of rocks level of intelligence by people who participate and believe this kind of garbage have made me this way.