Where are they getting this crap from?

No doubt you've seen the clip where John McCain was forced to defend Barack Obama against some of McCain's very own supporters. In case you haven't:



What I have to wonder is - who's to blame for this deadly combination of ignorance and hatred? Is it McCain? I don't think so - but why would this woman think that Obama is an "Arab"? And why would she think that that alone should be reason not to trust him?

She said that she had "read" about him. What the hell exactly is she reading? Obviously some source that not only doesn't know the difference between Arabia and Kenya, but a source that's obviously Islamaphobic, as I'm sure that what she was referring to was that she believed that he was a Muslim.

A few weeks ago, I got into an online debate with somebody who insisted that there was evidence that Obama was a Muslim. In fact, the debate even started with this person declaring that Obama took his oath on the Koran. Should I point out the fact that we shouldn't necessarily worry about a guy just because he's a Muslim? I mean, if he's a fundamentalist who believes in taking the Koran literally, then yeah, that's something to worry about - but I also worry about anybody who takes the Bible literally. I also have to wonder if these people are aware that we have Muslims in office in this country, and believe it or not, they haven't enacted shariah law or started to make plans to bomb us.

But again, where are these people getting this sort of thing? And why are there people who believe that Obama is a terrorist? Don't believe me? Check this out:



Personally, I do blame the McCain campaign for this. At least, I blame Sarah Palin, who keeps repeating that Obama "pals around with terrorists." While there certainly may be some cause for concern over the fact that he had a relationship with William Ayers, a former domestic terrorist, her statement is disingenuous. The thing is, "Joe Six Pack" hears a statement like that and concludes that Obama is palling around with the likes of Osama bin Laden. Now, you might be saying, "Oh, come on, people aren't really that stupid." I hate to break it to you - but yeah, people really are that stupid. And what's disgusting about this is that Palin knows that's exactly what's going to happen, but she gets to avoid any guilt because she didn't make that exact same statement.

It's pretty much the same thing as the Bush Administration, as they repeatedly talked about how Saddam Hussein supported terrorists and had ties to Al Quaeda. Of course, that's not the same thing as saying that Hussein was responsible for 9/11, but how else do you explain why the majority of the country believed that very thing to be true? Where the hell else were they getting it from? Of course, Bush and his cronies get to say that they never made that statement, but they obviously didn't have a problem with people believing that.

I also blame a lot of right-wing pundits who keep saying the "Barack Hussein Obama" thing over and over again. (One blogger even makes sure to both bold and italicize the "Hussein".) When asked why they're doing it, they play innocent and say, "That's his name, isn't it?" Let's ignore the fact that they're basically engaging in the kinds of games that teenagers do. What they're doing is fanning these flames of hatred by repeatedly trying to make some sort of connection with Obama and a ruthless dictator, never mind the fact that in some parts of the world, "Hussein" is about as common as "Chris".

And again, if you don't believe me, how else do you explain why some of those people in the video respond to the question as to whether Obama is a terrorist or not with, "Just look at his name!"