Growing Myth: Obama's a Muslim

Image by House Com on Education and Labor via Flickr

Can you believe that nearly one-in-five Americans believe that President Obama is a Muslim?

The Washington Post's Daily Fix blog reports the following stats on the subject:

Since October 2008, the percentage of Americans believing that Obama is a Muslim has risen from 12 percent to 18 percent. The percentage of those believing that he is a Christian, meanwhile, has dropped from 51 percent to 34 percent.

The crosstabs of the Pew study indicate that views of Obama's religion are generally linked to how he is viewed politically: the highest percentages of those believing that he is a Muslim can be found among conservative Republicans (34 percent).

Sixty percent of those who believe Obama is a Muslim said that they learned about his religion through the media.

Well, if some Americans can believe that Barack Obama wasn't born in this country and is inelligible to serve as president, or is a Marxist, Socialist and white bigot, why can't he be a Muslim?

While all the political fact checkers stand firm on the fact that Obama is a Christian not a Muslim, whatever his religion, Barack Hussein Obama is still the President of the United States, so get over it!

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Economic Advisor Romer Resigning

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Council of Economic Advisors chair Christina Romer is resigning effective September 3rd, which, combined with Peter Orszag's departure, leaves the Obama economic team without two of its lead players. Romer will return to her old job as an economics professor at the University of California at Berkeley.

She said that despite her own dissatisfaction with the high level of unemployment, she leaves feeling good about the sweeping policies and interventions the government took under Obama. Among them was the costliest government effort ever to stimulate the economy and spur private job creation.

Some rumor that Romer leaves due to diagreements with Larry Summers, but Romer own comments belie that allegation as not true.  Romer cast disagreements among key players on the White House economic team as a healthy part of reaching tough policy decisions.

"Everybody knows we're all strong personalities," Romer told The Associated Press on Friday. "We don't hesitate to have a very aggressive back and forth. But I think one of the things that we have done is absolutely find our groove. We're a wonderful team."

Taylor Marsh: Mort Zuckerman's Hit Piece on First Lady Michelle Obama

Here's another article responing to criticism of First Lady Michelle Obama vacation to Spain. It's well worth reading.


Taylor Marsh: Mort Zuckerman's Hit Piece on First Lady Michelle Obama

First Lady's Trip Sparks Criticism

Andrea Tantaros has penned a scorching editorial for the New York Daily News deeming First Lady Michelle Obama a "modern-day Marie Antoinette" for her vacation in Spain with her daughter.

"The First Lady is spending the next few days in a five-star hotel on the chic Costa del Sol in southern Spain with 40 of her 'closest friends,'" Tantaros writes, pointing to a CNN report that Michelle Obama and her group are expected to occupy 60 to 70 rooms. "Not exactly what one would call cutting back in troubled times."

The Chicago Sun Times reports the following:

Mrs. Obama’s U.S. Air Force jet landed at Malaga on Wednesday; she skipped celebrating her husband’s 49th birthday with him. (Daughter Malia, 12, is at overnight camp.) Mrs. Obama pays for personal expenses — as do her friends who arrived on their own — but that only covers a small part of the expense. Taxpayers pick up the tab for staff and security at the exclusive hotel and most of the expenses for the plane.

First ladies often go on vacations, with and without the president. An issue for Mrs. Obama may be how many: New York in March; Chicago, over Memorial Day; Los Angeles in June; Camp David — sort of an extension of the White House — in July; Maine in July, to highlight Acadia National Park, and now Spain. Mrs. Obama is glamorizing Spain’s coastal resorts before her Aug. 14 first family weekend visit to Florida’s Gulf Coast, to encourage tourists scared away by the oil spill. Starting Aug. 19, the Obamas will spend 10 days in Martha’s Vineyard.

Personal expenses are being paid by the Obamas and by friends traveling with them, but there are always related taxpayer-paid costs when a First Family travels. Of course with the Obamas, everything is worse, because of the glare of attention they generate from all who despise them.

If the First Lady stayed a Holiday Inn in Bayonne, would that be okay? I doubt it.

Senate Confirms Elena Kagan

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Elena Kagan: Supreme Court Justice


In 63 to 37 vote, the Senate confirmed U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan as the 112th justice to the Supreme Court, making her the fourth woman ever to sit on the high court.

Ben Nelson of Nebraska was the only Democrat voting against kagan's nomination. Four Republicans voted in favor or confirming Kagan: Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, Richard Lugar of Indiana, and Judd Gregg of New Hampshire.

Kagan will succeed retired justice John Paul Stevens. She became the second member President Obama has placed on the high court. One year ago, Sonia Sotomayor won confirmation as the court's first Latina.

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Attacks Against Healthcare Reform

Here's an interesting Washington Post article by Ezra Klein on the Republican efforts to stop healthcare reform:

The conservative effort to undermine health-care reform


I'm really not sure why conservatives are so excited that an electorate primarily made of Republican primary voters passed an anti-individual mandate ballot initiative in Missouri. I don't even understand why conservatives would be excited if it passed during a normal election.

For one thing, states can't invalidate federal laws. If a Republican Congress privatized Social Security and Vermont didn't like it, a ballot initiative wouldn't invalidate the law. If Paul Ryan passed his legislation to turn Medicaid into a program of vouchers and private insurance options, Massachusetts couldn't overturn it. The federal government has long resisted letting states decide which federal laws to follow and which to avoid. It will continue to resist.

Moreover, the focus on the individual mandate speaks to how weak the conservative case against the bill is. The individual mandate can be replaced. That wouldn't be a good thing, but you could substitute automatic enrollment, or some form of lock-out. Remember, Barack Obama's campaign health-care plan didn't have an individual mandate. The individual mandate, in fact, originated as a conservative idea. It's a good idea, in many ways, but it's not irreplaceable.

Much more dangerous is the Republican strategy to refuse to appropriate the funds the bill needs. But Republicans are going to have to think hard about that one: If they set the precedent that one side can erode legislation they don't like by refusing to fund it, the same is going to happen to their eventual accomplishments. Policy stability will disappear, as it will become normal for the opposition party to defund the other side's legislation when they take power. This wouldn't be the first time Congress has made a disastrous move toward gridlock and dysfunction, but it would be the one that scares the business community the most, as it would effectively end their ability to plan for the future.

By Ezra Klein
August 5, 2010; 12:05 PM ET

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President Obama on "The View"

Image via WikipediaThe Daily Beast commented on President Obama's Thursday appearance on The View

was the day's most talked about event. How'd he do? "The misogynist blowhards who claimed it was beneath the president of the United States to appear on The View ought to be ashamed of themselves," writes Dana Goldstein, who praises his appearance for "one of the more incisive conversations about race we've heard" since Obama's famous race speech. Tunku Varadarajan disagrees however, saying that the interview was "the apotheosis of the anodyne."

I looked forward to seeing the President on The View.  I thought the cross section of topics gave the American people another look at their leader.  The questions addressed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the economy, race in America, Shirley Sherrod, and other important issues.  At the same time, Obama was asked if he was invited to Chelsea Clinton's wedding, if Sasha and Malia were into boys yet, which songs were on his music list, if he knew Lindsay Lohan was in jail, and if he knew who Snooki was.  All of these questions allowed a look into the man who leads the country.
 
Before the show was over, the commentary began.  Should the president appear on show like the View?  Was the show dignified enough for the president to make an appearance on?  Wasn't it just like having him appear on the Jerry Springer Show? Why did the president choose to appear on the View vs. attending the Boy Scouts national gathering?  Blah, blah, blah...you get the drill.  Funny, it never changes.  John Stewart got it right when he said that there nothing Obama can do will please his critics.  I for one enjoyed the segment and was encouraged to see the natural way the president interacted with the cast and how he responded to the questions.  However, based on past experience, I anticipated the criticism. Needless to say, I was not disappointed.
 

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