The Subtle Bigotry of Obama's Campaign

From the New York Times:

The A.F.L.-C.I.O., which endorsed Senator Barack Obama for president last month, announced on Tuesday that it would [sic] begun sending flyers to union members to dispel what it says are false rumors about him.

The labor federation said it would mail flyers to more than 600,000 union members in four battleground states — Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — telling them that Mr. Obama is not a Muslim and often wears a flag pin on his lapel.

One flyer, with the headline, Straight Answers to Real Questions,” states: “A lot of unfair, false rumors are being spread. Here are the answers to some of the honest questions you may have about Barack Obama.”

With regard to the widespread belief that Mr. Obama is Muslim, the flyer states, “He is a committed Christian. In 1985, he began working as a community organizer with a Christian church-based group.” Below a photo of Mr. Obama being sworn in, the flyer states, “Barack Obama took the oath of office on his personal family bible. It was Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison, who was sworn in on the Koran.”

This effort by the A.F.L.-C.I.O. is aimed at making inroads with those blue-collar Archie Bunker types, those undereducated, unsophisticated, bigoted whites.

I suppose Barack Obama would characterize parts of the populations of Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin in the same way that he talked about people in Pennsylvania.

Recall Obama's words from back in April at an exclusive fundraiser in San Francisco:

"You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years. ... And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

Are the false rumors really hurting Obama, or is it his arrogant, condescending, liberal elite attitude?

Granted, false rumors may be keeping some from supporting Obama. There are bigots.

Obama is not a Muslim. He's a Christian. We know about the "Christian" church he attended for 20 years and his dear "Christian" pastor Jeremiah Wright. We know Obama's allegiance belonged to Wright and the Trinity United Church of Christ for decades.

Yes, Obama is a Christian. He gave tens of thousands of dollars to support Wright's church. Squash that Muslim rumor. It's not true.

Obama clings to his Bible. He took "the oath of office on his personal family bible." He's a committed Christian. And miraculously, he manages not to be bitter! (Is there anything Barack can't do?)

That said, it can't be denied that underlying this campaign to set the record straight is an anti-Muslim bias.

In effect, Obama's supporters, via these flyers, are saying: Don't be afraid of Barack. He's not one of those Muslims.

That has to offend Muslims. It should.