but we all have crazy relatives. Especially those of us from Ohio. So I don't quite agree with the claim that "People who love Obama enough to visit his Web site...are unlikely to have many friends who need setting straight." Friends, perhaps. But those of us who escaped from (or still live in!) Red America have relatives, coworkers, neighbors and random strangers who lovingly pass these smear emails around like the clap.

I agree, though, that the upfront statements like "Myth: Obama is a Muslim" stick better in the mind than the debunkings themselves. I hope that format changes. Maybe if they phrased them as questions, it would work a little better - you know, the way they do in Fundie religious tracts (Are you ready for the Rapture?) and on Salon (What's Obama doing wrong this hour?).

Ignoring that some may not appreciate being spammed by friends or associates for any reason, any site (one representing a government official no less), that asks for your password is enough to make the Electronic Frontier Foundation throw up on their shoes and so should be nuked from existence.

Farhad's article makes a couple of very valid points: that repeating a lie is probably not the best way to get people to start believing it, and that asking people to provide the passwords for their e-mail accounts is a bad idea that makes any Website look less than trustworthy. (There are a number of social networking-type sites that employ this tactic, and they've been heavily criticized and branded as spammers for doing so--and spam isn't even the biggest concern about handing over your e-mail password.)

As an Obama supporter, I am glad to see the senator's campaign not emulating the "ignore it" approach taken by the Kerry campaign, but I think there are better ways to go about addressing the rumors. And as another letter-writer said, I'd very much prefer that Senator Obama not act so outraged about the idea of being a Muslim, because it validates the notion that being Muslim is bad or wrong. Just once, I'd like him to say, "I'm not a Muslim, I'm a practicing Christian, but if I were a Muslim, I would be proud to be one." Yeah, I know, ain't gonna happen.

But I was still pissed off to see this on the Salon homepage. The fault is not with Farhad Manjoo, but with whoever chose the headline and made "What's wrong with Obama's..." the first thing that visitors see when they arrive at the site. That phrasing and positioning lend yet more credence to the idea that Joan Walsh is on an anti-Obama mission, and once again, Salon looks partisan and petty. I can think of 15 different headlines that would have been as descriptive as, and much less inflammatory than, the one that was used.

There are obviously some SERIOUS religious issues (Daddy hit you with the Bible) you need to work through on your own, but I won't get into those here.

I don't think Obama is a closet Muslim or anything like that. I am just the making the statement, that is FACT, that the son of a Muslim is considered a Muslim as well.

I also state the fact that this could change the may Muslim leaders view him. That's it. Nothing to get all worked up about.

This was quite possibly, the most ridiculous article ever posted to Salon.

I agree with the writer who took issues with the blatant denial by Obama that he is or ever was associated with Islam. This brings into question Islam's being a legitimate choice for someone who either chose the religion from another or was born into it and chose to continue to follow it. As with any association with an organization, institution, belief system, cultural, racial, gender or class, there are assumptions made about what that means and what to expect from those so associated. Whether Obama is or was ever a Muslim is not the issue. It is a question of his character, how he lives his life and what effect his associations and beliefs will have on his ability to govern and to work with his colleagues, his countrymen/women and world leaders with whom he has dealings. As I see this whole controversy with the website, it is more valid to present his own qualifications and respond to the hypocrisy of the opposition by identifying said hypocrisy. What is at issue is hypocrisy. If there is an area of attack, then be very careful that your own closet is clear of skeletons. For example, using deprecating remarks about Michelle Obama's use of a term that is offensive to others, such as "whitey", which is not even accurate, opens the opposition to a response about their referencing weather and rape. Go beyond the denail of the "whitey" reference and expose the hypocrisy of the attackers. The rape remark is on the record. McCain referred to his current wife, Cindy, as a c**t, in the presence of witnesses. I think that trumps any personal attacks against the wife of his opponent. McCain does not stand a chance in the area of hypocrisy, or in kinder terms, flip flopping of facts. Baring the truth is not negative as long as it is kept in context.

And, for the record, by preferred progressive blog site is now www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com. I wander over to Salon to see how it has degraded since I first began to read it a couple of years ago.

I am committed to Oneness through Justice and Transformation

peace,

st john

I'm sorry, simply saying that this was the most ridiculous article Salon ever posted isn't enough.

As it stands, Mr. Manjoo's pieces on Technology are already substandard at best. He has show himself a typical, fawning deference to all things Microsoft, and now you're actually going to let him comment on an area that he has no expertise in, political campaigning??

(And yes, by that Microsoft shot, I am calling into question his impartiality and his objectivity.)

And like it or not, despite it's tangential connection to technology, that's what you've done Salon Editors, let a Tech guy comment on Political strategy. You're going to let him judge the work of political professionals who have taken on and beaten one of the most feared political machines in recent memory, and expect to be taken seriously??

I don't know what the hell is going on at the Editorial Board at Salon, but if this is the crap you want to put on your site, I dearly want my subscription money back.