Barack Obama: Facts and Fairytales

On Jan. 3, 2008 amid a crowded reception hall in a small church in Iowa, I was a precinct captain for Barack Obama. As a caucus leader for Barack Obama supporters, I was approached with interesting questions from curious undecided voters on caucus night, including, "Isn't he a Muslim? I got an email that said he was, and it said that it was true!" "Didn't he refuse to say the Pledge of Allegiance? I don't trust him." It seems these days it just takes some words printed on a screen forwarded by an unsuspecting "friend" to ruin a man's reputation. In an effort to debunk some of these myths, I went on a fact-finding mission of my own.

According to Snopes.com, a widely respected myth-busting site, the claim that Barack Obama is a radical Muslim with loyalties to Muslim interests is false. The truth is, Barack Obama lived outside of the country in India with his mother and step-father for a few years as is clearly stated on his website. In fact, this myth was so widely believed to be true, that CNN produced an in-depth report refuting the claim.

The second popular email myth floating around about Barack Obama did not place his hand over his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance at an event attended by all candidates in Iowa at Tom Harkin's Steak Fry. Again, the email asserts itself to be true, but a quick look at this video from ABC news shows Barack Obama standing with arms down intently listening to a woman singing the "Star Spangled Banner" while all other political figures on stage were standing with hands on hearts during the anthem, not necessarily attentively. At a town hall meeting in Iowa, I saw Barack Obama personally respond to this question posed by an audience member who said her son was disappointed when he heard that he did not put his hand over his heart. Barack Obama shook his head and wondered aloud how that story got started, clarifying that he always places his hand over his heart during the pledge.