The New Republic

This whole "Obama is a Muslim" campaign confuses me.  Were there a lot of bigots who were planning on voting for him but for this?  Seriously, whose vote does this change?  Is the idea is to mobilize bigoted right-wingers not to sit out the general if they're disappointed with the GOP nom?

- adaglas

November 30, 2007 at 12:49pm

The story also make numerous factual errors (like Congressmen use the BIble to take their oath of office). They don't but often take a shot afterwords for their constitutents with their hands on the Bible. The story is pure excrement.

BSD

- bsdespain

November 30, 2007 at 1:32pm

adaglas -- maybe.  The point is, Americans are whipped into a frenzy against Muslims.  The ignorance is so thick you can spread it.  They might not have held back their vote for the black guy just because he's black, but now we have something sinister hanging around.  The ones who don't think much will go, "um, just in case, I'll vote for the one who does not sound like the violent jihadists who I think are out to get me."

- stgla

November 30, 2007 at 1:41pm

My thoughts exactly on opening up the WaPo this morning: that may be the gutsiest political cartoon I've seen yet this decade. I was never a big fan of Herblock as an artist, but today's Toles cartoon was exactly the kind of response I'd have expected from Herblock. Toles put to rest any doubt that he deserves to be the mighty Herblock's successor.

That said, I hope this is the last time we'll see the word "risible" used in the conservative punditocracy sense on a TNR.com post. It seems to this reader that, sometime in early 2006, every conservative talker/writer/blogger, plus Chris Hitchens, got together in a giant hotel steam room somewhere, and decided that the word "risible" ought to mean "causing great offense, rising to the level of fighting words." Then they all toweled off, dressed for the bar, and ordered a round of double old fashioneds before retiring to their keyboards to start using the newly redefined word with Bushian abandon.

But that's not what "risible" means. The word means "inclined to laugh," or "connected with laughter," or "funny, amusing, laughable." It comes to us from the Latin "ridere", "to laugh," by way of French. It has the same origin as "ridicule." And while the Post story on the Muslim rumors was indeed ridiculous, it was not in the least bit funny, amusing, laughable, or in any way characterized by mirth.

- rhubarbs

November 30, 2007 at 2:33pm

Its not just that he might be a - gasp - muslim, its the idea that he's a "secret muslim plant" which goes very nicely with his scary name.  But the specific implications of the smear aren't even that important.  All by itself its ridiculous, but add it to the host of future viscious rumors and smears - each one by itself no doubt completely bogus - and you end up with millions of Americans who just have a gut feeling that there's something not quite . . . "American" . . . or trustworthy about that guy.   Just ask that ruthless bitch, Hillary, how it works.  

- newdex

November 30, 2007 at 3:29pm

Its not just that he might be a - gasp - muslim, its the idea that he's a "secret muslim plant" which goes very nicely with his scary name.  But the specific implications of the smear aren't even that important.  All by itself its ridiculous, but add it to the host of future viscious rumors and smears - each one by itself no doubt completely bogus - and you end up with millions of Americans who just have a gut feeling that there's something not quite . . . "American" . . . or trustworthy about that guy.   Just ask that ruthless bitch, Hillary, how it works.  

- newdex

November 30, 2007 at 3:29pm