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Tired, Stressed or Distracted?

By Larry Johnson on September 7, 2008 at 1:31 PM in Barack Obama, Barry Soetoro, Christianity, Current Affairs, Muslim

I am sure that John McCain, Joe Biden, and Sarah Palin will have their share of misstatements and verbal faux pas. And there is no denying Barack Obama has had more than his share–i.e., his comment about having visited 57 states with one to go comes to mind. But what the hell was he thinking today during his interview with George Stephanopolus?

His muslim faith? So far he has refused to acknowledge that he was raised as a muslim while a child in Indonesia. His mom was agnostic/atheist. She did not take him to church. We do not know whether his stepfather, Lolo Soetoro, was a devout muslim. Barack did learn the call to prayer in grade school but there is no evidence he maintained any allegiance or commitment to Islam when he returned to Hawaii as an eleven year old boy. Furthermore, he appears not to have had any particular religious faith until deciding to become a congregant of Jeremiah Wright.

So, why does he refer to his muslim faith and why does Stephanopolus have to remind him, “you mean your Christian faith.” The rightwing is going to have a field day with this. I think he was stressed and his mind wandered. He is not a muslim by virtue of confession or practice, but the matter sure seems to weigh on him. What do you think?