Glenn,

STOP DRINKING THE SALON KOOLAID!!!

You're really misunderstanding this one, and it smacks of another made-up controversy designed solely to make Obama look bad.

You say "Huckabee was criticized specifically for proclaiming himself as a CHRISTIAN in order to get Christian voters."

Huckabee was criticized not because of his proclamations of Christianity. Because ALL of the candidates running -- including Hillary, Edwards, Guiliani, McCain, et. al.) have proclaimed that they are Christians of various denominations (or in religions that proclaim Jesus Christ is their God -- Romney) and have identified themselves as such.

Huckabee is using the term "Christian" as an evangelical "code word". What he really means is "born-again, literal interpretationist/Christian domininist/right-wing/evangelical/PromiseKeepers/gay-hating/abortion-banning /funamentalist Christianity.

(As an aside, years ago visiting in Texas, I met a girl who told me she was going to Mexico to be a Christian missionary. Having been to Mexico many times, and knowing it to be a primarily Catholic country, I was confused, and said, "But Mexico is a Catholic country?" "OH MY GOSH," she screeched, looking at me in horror. "Don't y'all know that Catholics aren't REAL Christians?")

The Huckatollah wants America to be a Christian (as in born-again, fundamentalist) nation, and has said as much. He wants to revise our Constitution to reflect this. He essentially wants "All men are created equal" to be changed to "All men are created equal, unless they're gay, Muslim, or women who must be subordinate to their husbands according to God..." He is trying to establish a theocracy.

Come on Glenn...do you think that the majority of the nation that are NOT wingnuts don't get it when Huckabee says he's a "Christian?" We know what it means. He is saying "I'm a born-again, Bible-thumping, right-winger fundie Christian."

Obama's saying "I'm a Christian" means "I'm a Christian -- NOT a Muslim...just in case you believe the lies fed to you from Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and chain emails."

So, recap:

Mike Huckabee: "I'm a Christian" = "I'm the only born-again/right-wing/religious extremist/gay-hating/abortion-banning fundamentalist candidate"

Barack Obama: "I'm a Christian" = "Despite emails and right-wing attacks, the truth is that I go to a Christian Church, I'm a practicing Christian. Even though my father who I met once in my life was Muslim, I wasn't raised as a Muslim, and am not a secret Muslim"

I'm really VERY disappointed that this is what you decided to write about. There is so much out there, esp. in the media, that you do such a great job of exposing. Why not tackle the issue of why Fox and various conservative/wingnut outlets continue to make the Obama/Osama, secret Muslim allusions?

But this?

Glenn wrote:

...But let's assume that's the purpose. This Obama/Muslim attack has been around for a long time -- the whole year not. How come Obama didn't circulate this flier to Democrats in Iowa, New Hampshire or Nevada -- only South Carolina? Didn't he want to rebut the Muslim whispering campaign in those others states, too?

People can whisper all they want. The issue is, what do the voters believe. And sad to say, if you polled these states, I'll wager a bet that the state with the highest percentage of people who actually believe BELIEVE that Obama is secretly a Muslim would be the state with the most right wing fundamentalists being fed a steady diet of lies like this from their pastors, their friends emails, and the blighted right-wing media they watch/read/listen to.

And which of the four states is that? SOUTH CAROLINA.

So it makes sense that, if the voters of SC were likely to be, ahem, "misinformed," then a campaign message to help clarify things for them is quite appropriate.

Since Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada are not, like South Carolina, cram-jammed full of right-wing/born-again/fundamentalists, those voters understood that Obama's a Christian, Huckabee's a Christian (who wants a Christian fundamentalist theocracy), and Obama can focus his resources on relevant political information instead of focusing resources on efforts to deprogram votes from the cult of fundamentalism.

What's WITH you today, Glenn? This is really nuts, and you're usually not nuts.

Glenn wrote:

It'd be very easy for me only to write posts here that would provoke little disagreement or criticism. I'm well aware that writing a post that questions Barack Obama in any way is going to unleash all sorts of angry invective.

Glenn, others have pointed out, and I agree: You are a smart, savvy writer. You clearly realize that a President Obama vs. a President Huckabee would be very, very different worlds.

The realities of American politics are forcing Obama to try to counteract the "He's a Muslim" misinformation campaign by getting the word out that he's a mainstream Christian -- versus the Huckatollah's effort to get the word out that if elected, he'd create a fundamentalist theocratic government.

Obama is not sacred, and he makes mistakes a plenty. But defending himself is not a mistake. He has every right to tell the truth -- "I'm a Christian" in response to the fear-mongering smear efforts to pander to uneducated Islamophobes.

It is not black or white, as you are trying to pigeonhole it.

So what exactly is the POINT of your argument? Is your point that...

• religious affiliations don't belong anywhere in campaigning?
• religious information of any sort doesn't belong anywhere in campaigning?
• Obama's supporters can't tolerate criticism of their candidate?
• Different standards are applied to Republicans vs. Democrats?
• Different standards are applied to Obama vs. Huckabee?
• Huckabee and Obama are somehow alike?
• Huckabee and Obama are both despicable for using religion as a key point campaigning in South Caroline?

Seriously, Glenn.

Is your point that Obama aggressively presenting the truth about his religious affiliation (to correct a deliberate misinformation campaign meant to smear him) really does equate to Huckabee's fundamentalist/ gay-hating/ aborting-banning/right wing religious platform?