A Muslim? Won't say the Pledge of Allegiance? Privy to secret terrorist fist bump sign language? Who knew beliefs could get so crazy? Let's dispel the Barack Obama myths and rumors floating across the Internet. Add your content below.

Barack Obama Myth: "Obama is a Muslim."

Not true. Obama is a long-time Christian. His father was a practicing Muslim at one time, true, but not by the time he'd met and married Barack's mother. In any case, Barack's parents divorced when he was two years old, and his father all but vanished from his life at that point. His mother went out of her way to give Barack a thorough grounding in the world's religions so that he'd have an understanding of what people believe in. He himself chose Christianity as an adult, joining the Church of Christ in the mid-1980's. He has been a member of that denomination ever since.

Barack Obama Myth: "Obama does not salute the flag."

Not true. Barack learned the Pledge from his grandfather, a WWII veteran. Here's a video of him leading the Pledge as he opens proceedings:

Barack Obama Myth: "Obama's books contain racially charged remarks."

Not true. Those quoted passages are universally altered, manipulated, or altogether fabricated.

Smear:"I found a solace in nursing a pervasive sense of grievance and animosity against my mothers race."
Attributed to Dreams of My Father
Fact: Nothing close to this quote appears in Dreams from My Father.
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Smear:"'There was something about him that made me wary, a little too sure of himself, maybe. And white.'"
Attributed to Dreams of My Father
Fact:FULL QUOTE From Dreams From My Father: "He offered to start me off at ten thousand dollars the first year, with a two-thousand-dollar travel allowance to buy a car; the salary would go up if things worked out. After he was gone, I took the long way home, along the East River promenade, and tried to figure out what to make of the man. He was smart, I decided. He seemed committed to his work. Still, there was something about him that made me wary. A little too sure of himself, maybe. And white--he'd said himself that that was a problem." [Page 142]
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Smear: "I never emulate white men and brown men whose fates didn't speak to my own. It was into my father's image, the black man, son of Africa, that I'd packed all the attributes I sought in myself, the attributes of Martin and Malcolm, DuBois and Mandela."

Fact:
FULL QUOTE From Dreams From My Father: "All my life, I had carried a single image of my father, one that I had sometimes rebelled against but had never questioned, one that I had later tried to take as my own. The brilliant scholar, the generous friend, the upstanding leader--my father had been all those things. All those things and more, because except for that one brief visit in Hawaii, he had never been present to foil the image, because I hadn't seen what perhaps most men see at some point in their lives: their father's body shrinking, their father's best hopes dashed, their father's face lined with grief and regret."Yes, I'd seen weakness in other men--Gramps and his disappointments, Lolo and his compromise. But these men had become object lessons for me, men I might love but never emulate, white men and brown men whose fates didn't speak to my own. It was into my father's image, the black man, son of Africa, that I'd packed all the attributes I sought in myself, the attributes of Martin and Malcolm, DuBois and Mandela. And if later I saw that the black men I knew--Frank or Ray or Will or Rafiq--fell short of such lofty standards; if I had learned to respect these men for the struggles they went through, recognizing them as my own--my father's voice had nevertheless remained untainted, inspiring, rebuking, granting or withholding approval. You do not work hard enough, Barry. You must help in your people's struggle. Wake up, black man! "Now, as I sat in the glow of a single light bulb, rocking slightly on a hard-backed chair, that image had suddenly vanished. Replaced by...what? A bitter drunk? An abusive husband? A defeated, lonely bureaucrat? To think that all my life I had been wrestling with nothing more than a ghost!" [Page 220]-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Smear: "I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction."

Fact:
FULL QUOTE From Audacity of Hope: "Whenever I appear before immigrant audiences, I can count on some good-natured ribbing from my staff after my speech; according to them, my remarks always follow a three-part structure: "I am your friend," "[Fill in the home country] has been a cradle of civilization," and "You embody the American dream." They're right, my message is simple, for what I've come to understand is that my mere presence before these newly minted Americans serves notice that they matter, that they are voters critical to my success and full-fledged citizens deserving of respect. "Of course, not all my conversations in immigrant communities follow this easy pattern. In the wake of 9/11, my meetings with Arab and Pakistani Americans, for example, have a more urgent quality, for the stories of detentions and FBI questioning and hard stares from neighbors have shaken their sense of security and belonging. They have been reminded that the history of immigration in this country has a dark underbelly; they need specific assurances that their citizenship really means something, that America has learned the right lessons from the Japanese internments during World War II, and that I will stand with them should the political winds shift in an ugly direction." [Page 260-261]

Barack Obama Myth:"Obama can't provide his birth certificate, so he's not a citizen and not eligible to be president."

Not true. See right: ------->

Barack Obama Myth: "Michelle Obama says 'whitey' on a tape."

Not true. Back on May 30th, Rush Limbaugh claimed that Michelle Obama had spoken from the pulpit at Trinity United Church of Christ and said "whitey" and that someone had video taped it. Michelle Obama has never spoken at that church, though, and there is no tape. Later the rumor was picked up and modified by blogger Larry Johnson ("new and exciting updates," unspecified), Roger Stone of Fox News ("an indelible record exists"), and the Hillbuzz blog (which has the most extensive speculation on the topic, identifying the disputed rant as having been filmed at the 2004 Rainbow/PUSH Coalition Conference at the Chicago Sheraton Hotel, where Michelle Obama spoke on a panel).

Limbaugh never mentioned it further, Larry Johnson never offered an update, Stone admitted that he hasn't met anyone who has seen the tape, and Michelle Obama was never on a panel at the aforementioned conference, though she did attend.

In short, the goalposts keep moving, but no tape ever materializes.

Barack Obama Myth: "Obama wants to tax everything we have -- including our water!"

Not true. Barack Obama wants the tax code to favor honest, hard-working people, and he has proposed a $1,000 tax cut for middle class families. The email being sent around is too long to cover here, but Factcheck.org, a nonpartisan nonprofit voter advocacy group, has debunked the email point-by-point here. They state that "This widely distributed message is so full of misinformation that we find it impossible to believe that it is the result of simple ignorance or carelessness on the part of the writer. Almost nothing it says about Obama's tax proposals is true. We conclude that this deception is deliberate." To which we answer, no kidding.

Barack Obama Myth: "Obama won't win."

Two words. BULL, CRAP

Barack Obama Myth:

Won't say the pledge of allegiance.
NOT TRUE!

Barack Obama Myth:

Add more here.


For more information, see Fight the Smears, the official Obama site devoted to killing off the rumors.

Barack Obama is against Prop. 8 in CA.

Answer is: Yes. He belives in Gay Unions, not Gay Marriages. Check: http://www.calitics.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=6307 Unless he has changed his mind. I watched every debate and when asked if he believed in Gay Marriage he said "No." (Actually all but one raised their hands at no.) Then when asked if they believed in Gay Unions, everyone raised their hands, saying yes. If you watched all the democratic debates you would remember. They were running out of time and they asked simply for a show of hands.

On another subject - only one raised his hand during the same debate, saying, yes - he owned a gun. It was NOT Obama! (or Biden)

I've seen him, I've watched him, I've talked to him, and I've asked him questions. Twice. Once in Austin, where he drew a crowd of approximately 4-5000, and in San Antonio in a smaller venue. He believes in choice, he does not believe in Capital Punishment except in extreme instances (he had me at that one - you know, "You had me at hello.") And who knows, our country is going to change, that is if Karl Rove has not done too much damage this last week.

I've worked with Obama's Texas Team and ran a 500 member caucus here, but delt with his aid Scott. The same aid that said he got Edward's girlfriend pregnant. Edwards was going to be our Attorney General for Obama or Hillary, but not now. Very sad. As you get older you begin to understand why powerful men do things like that, but I never thought that of John Edwards. He would have been wonderful as Attorney General. Maybe Hillary? Know her too - for a long time before and after she met and married Bill. At one time she was considered to be one of the top 10 attorneys in the world, not just this country - in the world. She is brilliant, but does not have Obama's temperment and management skills.

Back to Obama - check out debates, see what I put there. Then get to work today!

Oh, and in case you still wonder - here it is out of the horses mouth. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21738432/
Just click on "Obama believes in Civil Unions.