Get the real facts on Obama

While I am sure that Patricia Eaton is a good person, I am amazed that misinformation such as that contained in her Letter to the Editor (March 2, 2008) continues and that the Courier would publish it.

All of the malicious and quite frankly bigoted statements that she includes in her letter are part of a smear campaign leveled against the first African American presidential candidate with a legitimate shot at being the nominee of a major political party and be elected president. For months, these lies have been circulated on the internet through anonymous emails. All have been rebutted, not only by the candidate, but also the fact checkers at Snopes.com. Here are the facts:

Barack Obama is a Christian ? NOT a Muslim. He is a committed and active Christian who has been a member of the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago for 20 years, where he continues to attend services with his family. Barack Obama has never been a Muslim or practiced any other faith besides Christianity, and in January 2005 he was sworn into the U.S. Senate on his family Bible.

Barack Obama is a patriotic American who believes that you show your patriotism by how you treat your fellow Americans and veterans. He has been a community organizer, a civil rights attorney, and taught constitutional law for a decade. In both the Illinois and U.S. Senate he tackled ethics reform and has been an aggressive advocate for veteran's rights. Barack's grandfather taught him to say the Pledge of Allegiance, and he regularly leads his fellow Senators as they recite it together.

In this internet age, we must be especially cautious about the truthfulness of the unsolicited messages that we receive. As Ms. Eaton's letter illustrates, just because something is printed, doesn't mean it's true.

While it is truly American to support the candidate of your choice, it is unconscionable, un-American and frankly slanderous to forward or publish false and bigoted information about any candidate.

You can get the facts about Barack Obama and his background by visiting his website: http://my.barackobama.com/page/conte nt/factcheckactioncenter.
Ray Defendorf
Bath