Answering the Rumors About Obama

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/07/30/answering-the-rumors-about-obama/

by Seth Michaels, Jul 30, 2008



Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign for president is based on working-family values and important issues like health care, jobs and fair trade. Naturally, the right-wing rumor machine has been hard at work to change the subject, by making outlandish claims aimed at dividing and distracting us. The AFL-CIO is working hard to counter the rumors and lies leveled at Obama and keep the election focused on working people’s lives.

In a new mailer we’re sending to thousands of union households in key states, the AFL-CIO is taking on the rumors directly, giving straight answers to the questions people have about Obama. The mailers are attracting positive media attention, and bloggers are praising them as, as the Jed Report puts it, “the most effective anti-smear message of the campaign.”

In his most recent Out Front column, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney takes a look at five of the most persistent manufactured rumors about Obama.

1) Does Obama wear a flag pin on his lapel?

Yes, but not always. Like many presidential candidates, sometimes he wears a flag pin, sometimes he wears a breast cancer awareness pin, sometimes he wears his U.S. Senate membership pin and other times he wears no pin at all. (Rutenberg, Jim and Zeleny, Jeff. “The Politics of the Lapel, When It Comes to Obama,” The New York Times, 5/15/08)

2) Is Obama a Christian?

Yes. He is a committed Christian. In 1985, he began working as a community organizer with a Christian church-based group seeking to improve the living conditions in poor Chicago neighborhoods. (Pulliam, Sarah and Olsen, Ted. “Q&A: Barack Obama,” Christianity Today, 1/23/08)

3) Was Obama sworn in on a Bible?

Yes. Barack Obama took the oath of office on his personal family Bible. (It was U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison from Minnesota who was sworn in on the Quran.) (Fiore, Faye. “He’s the Hill’s King for a Day, but Senate Has Other Plans,” Los Angeles Times, 1/5/05)

4) Was Obama born in America?

Yes. Barack Obama’s birth certificate shows he was born in Honolulu on Aug. 4, 1961, at 7:24 p.m. (Malcolm, Andrew. “Barack Obama’s Birth Certificate Revealed Here,” LATimes.com, 6/16/08)

5) Does Obama place his hand over his heart when he says the pledge of allegiance?

Yes. Barack Obama always places his hand over his heart during the pledge of allegiance. (Dobbs, Michael. “Obama Nabbed by the Patriot Police,” WashingtonPost.com, 11/2/07)

Now, with those rumors out of the way, let’s get back to what matters. Barack Obama will work for working families. Find out more at www.MeetObama08.org.

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Paid for by the AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education Political Contributions Committee, www.aflcio.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.