Row escalates over Obama turban photo

I dont think mazlim is the correct spelling, though i could be wrong..

can you say ridiculous... pulling out all the stops huh? when i first saw this photo, i knew that hillary clinton needed something to woo the uncommitted. if anything, this probably helped his campaign. it's unfortunate that reasoning somehow escapes these cam-pains-in-my-***!

It really bothers me to see americans lable obama as a mazlim for wearing this, or saying that hes secretly a mazlim. George bush wore a yamika, is he suddenly a jew. wether hes a mazlim or not, it really shouldnt matter. it matters about the issue. but apprently the american society cant concentrate on importent issues, paris hilton and britney spears tabloid storm shows a lot of this

zrink, you stated "For any of those 'smears' to work, including this one, you have to start with the Islam=bad viewpoint."

Unfortunately, Islam is a pockmark on society. The amount of good that has been facilitated by Islam pales tremendously when compared to the massive negative affects that have been transposed on Islamic society. The Middle East is in a dark ages, and this is spearheaded by the dogmatic, chauvinistic, bigoted (and a choice of other adjectives) religion of Islam.

Secular thought, most notably secular humanism, is founded in logic, reason, and rationality. It is supreme over dogmatic religion as a basis of philosophy and thought.

I get the sense from your comment that you are trying overly hard to be politically correct. Fortunately for free-thinking people, being PC is not of pinnacle importance [in most situations] and can actually be avoided entirely when speaking of particular social evil (such as Islam).

I think Obama made a big mistake in attacking the release of the photo (a photo he obviously knew existed somewhere). The BEST way to neautralize the whole thing would have been to appear indifferent to it -- to act as if there is nothing wrong with it at all (because there really isn't). It's not like it's a picture of him doing drugs or something. In that case, yeah, raise hell. But he was on a diplomatic mission and breifly wore a ceramonial garb. See, if he wasn't emabrrassed about it when he did it, well, it makes it difficult for him to be "embarrassed" about it now. He should have issued a small statement explaining the context of the photo and just dropped it. But now, by attacking the release of a rather harmless picture, he has backed himself into a very weird position wherein he has to explain why this picture is simultaneously "a smear" and "completely harmless." The correct response would have been for Obama explain that he wasn't worried about the photo at all because he had faith in voters not to fall for such ham-fisted Republican scare tactics. But by getting so upset by it he inadvertently is confirming that there IS something to be upset about.

and that vision is exactly what we need to focus on!
everyone is just perpetuating the situation. American politics have gone to crap. Let's focus on the real issues and stop judging people because of their clothing..because at the end of the day, whether or not our economy collapses or we attack Iran [or any other social issues] is not going to be affected by the fact Obama was dressed in a turban or Clinton wore a pantsuit. They could be naked for all I care..it's not going to change our gas prices or bring peace or end famine.

This is just amazing. Again it shows the shallowness we have become. Is it really in our dress, or in our hearts that counts?
Obama has had the experience of being with less finances than Hillary, so better understands what most of us are going through right now. This might make Obama more quick to pull us our of the muck and mire that George W. has got us in.
We must remember John F. Kennedy was young and not as experienced, yet had a vision. That vision is exactly what we need right now.

you the man obama keep up the good work.

Everyone pays a lot of lip-service to The Constitution of these great United States..Did I not read that every state in the Union is obligated to have theit own Militia,just in case the country,As Benjamin Franklin put it way back when we weren't at war against our own people for sharing a few dollars and maybe more than one orgasm,"The country cannot help but fall into Despotism at some point."
I feel we need more than a VETO...

mjsmith11 (oops I had to fix this sorry), thank you darling for that photo. People need to see more images like that. Imagine if pictures of J. Edgar Hoover had been leaked to the press how different things might have been during the McCarthy era? JFK?

The reality is that being in the closet is a Republican's mainstay strategy. I remember reading somewhere that Cheney likes to squeeze little puppies to death to relieve stress... that he has a Marqui de Sade complex, only he likes to balance the fact that he controls the world right now by being tied up and dominated by a Dominatrix. Can you imagine him tied up and gagged with a red rubber ball and leather straps being whipped and having stilleto heals being dug deeply into his back? Some of the stuff I read about the perverse sexual appetites of White Male Republicans and White Male Evangelical Preachers would make your skin crawl. They have perversions that border on the Spanish Inquisition.

These two Democratic candidates Hillary and Obama are banal in comparison and neither would even come close to such perversions. So on that merit alone I can tolerate either one, even though we all know that politics as usual is not going to change until WE THE PEOPLE can exercise veto power over the government.

Wouldn't that be a little slice of heaven, one petition of say 250K or 500K verified signatures could veto or overturn any legislation or executive order. MM MM

Yes that would be like having a Sundae on Sunday...

sooner or later, the shallowness of Obama's campaign promises will become apparent. He is a likeable fellow who has had much less experience and fortitude than Hillary. His weakness for tobacco is an example; just what other "weaknesses" does he have, which the general public has not been privy? Hillary is a known--and respected worldwide--quality. Obama? His abilities/contributions remain to be seen. Do we REALLY want another inexperienced person, as was the doofus dubya, in our White House? We need PROVEN, quality leadership and that Hillary will provide.

I agree with JanforGore, we need to stand up against misogyny in our forum, I am totally for that. The crossroads of discrimination in the world is gender, class and race. In our forum we should not treat these strata with disrespect; unless it is meant as a lighthearted joke perhaps, but I have seen some pretty fierce debate over joking about these in other discussions on this site.

Remember the one about joking about rape??? Is it ok or not?

Hey and as a reality check, please anyone out there, because I am striving to live my life free of sexist, racist or class/elitist type talk of behavior, I invite you all to hold me in check.

Same old politics on both sides. Not surprising. And I have to mention how I notice the subtle innuendos about Hillary Clinton being a "cow" and wearing men's clothes. On another site she was called a bitch, a ho, a witch, unhinged, "on the rag" and other assorted nasty sexist terms. And here I thought it was just certain men who felt threatened by strong women, but I guess it isn't just certain men. I know some people don't like her and I'm not fond of her either, but are the sexist slurs really necessary? If people were throwing racial slurs at Obama everyone would be up in arms and rightfully so. Why is mysogyny tolerated? Isn't that part of the nasty political atmosphere people are sick of? I see nothing wrong with the photo either, but people make more of a big deal about this than issues. If only we could get 800 views on a climate change thread! I don't then think anyone who does that has any room to complain about such politics when they eat it all up.

Well here is my share on this topic.

I think that drudgereport.com engages in yellow journalism as much as the rest of mainstream media. They are Enquireresque in many ways; like smokingun.com. It's all about headlines and how they are perceived and received in the mind of the viewer.

This is a photographic headline in that we add the words to it in our own minds.

Yes, it does play on the fears of the American public with regard to Islamic fundamentalism and the Clinton campaign staffers should have exercised more caution; not been so careless.

But honestly folks, let's get over this Islam is bad thing already. Everything is good! Its the extremists and fanatics that make it bad, because they try to get everybody else to believe in and see the reality that they see. There are many radical fanatic fundamentalists in practically all the major religions of the world who would resort to killing those that don't agree with them. Christians are no exception, although I think Buddhists would be, I can't think of any scripture of theirs that advocates using violence to accomplish God's will, but if someone knows better please enlighten me.

Looey, you seem just a bit naive. I have learned, only recently, that in TODAY'S politics, nobody stays 100% clean. It's the nature of the beast, as it is, but not as it should be. If you support her, that's fine, but at least know both sides of the coin. (It will make you a better debater.) If you think Hillary didn't know about this, then you are simply not reading between the lines. A circulation like this could cause a huge backlash against Clinton; do you think she would take that lightly? Do you think her staff wants to be fired, or for that matter, ever hired again? Come on... ------Also, a little self-fulfilling destiny for you PATTCEE...SHUT UP!

Jubal, if you really love us, you'll share! ha! (thanks, and you know we love you too!!

Wow. Hillary's camp is going to the point of no return. The American public is SO tired of this type of political game. No wonder why she has lost 11 straight contests. I hope someone from her campaign reads the responses here and lets her know even if she did manage to steal the nomination, highly doubtful she could repair the damage she is doing right now to win the general election. Texas and Ohio, you have the chance to end this madness once and for all.

haha cannabis zucchini bread, sweet

Angelina, MM, though art godly b*(&^(*tch's and I worship you both.

You two are some of the toughest women I have met on this website; there are several other's that come to mind but I won't mention them here since they weren't part of this conversation. I absolutely love your strength, audacity, candidness, gusto, compassion, ferocity, love, and sharp tongues and wits.

Thank you both for your wonderful input everyday. Sometimes it gets my blood boiling early in the morning, and other times I get such belly laughs from reading what you all have posted. I just want to say I cherish you. Thanks.

To all the rest of you who I don't know yet, I love you too. (what is with me today, I am just feeling goofy love today for some reason, maybe it was that cannabis zucchini bread I had about a half an hour ago).

Seriously, I want one of those. Does anyone know where I can get one? I think he looks cool in that photo. The only thing I ever see Hillary Clinton wear is borderline mens clothes.

oh and way to add to the bs by helping to circulate this photo you ass

its like the NFL season never ended..hah

hahaha, now that's funny. but i hear that head-on stuff really works. does that mean Hillary can hold it down and would really work well as Pres?

Clint-ON apply directly to the forehead.
Clint-ON apply directly to the forehead.
Clint-ON apply directly to the forehead.

Ends cam-PAIN fast!

Marilynn_Murray,

that's weak, c'mon, u can do better. show me an email with Hillary saying it and i'll have a problem with it. and at the end of the day, who gives a crap? this was an internal email expressing some level of frustration. big deal.

u don't think obama or anyone in his campaign has written an email that is at all offensive or inappropriate in its putting down of hillary or maybe a republican?

again, it's not like she's campaigning based on this, she's not out there at debates like: look at obama in this picture, he's a terrorist.

it's all politics and they're pretty much the same person in a different costume.

I am reminded of that scene in "Fatal Attraction" --- "I will NOT be ignored, Dan!" Hillary has lost. It's over. She needs to just head back to her dorm, write in her blog about what a jerk the American Public is for leading her on and forget about it. But no! Look, Hillary, baby, it's over. We had fun, but it's over now. We never said we were going to move in together. Now please quit calling us at work demanding that we have to "debate" this whole thing. We're in love with Obama now. You didn't leave anything at our place and, no, we don't need to go to Texas to "talk it out." We're done. Now please. I'm getting a text from Barak. I gotta go.

zrink, I agree with you. As far as the outfit Barack Obama is wearing... I want to get one of those.

looey23, They never do anything themselves. It's always staffers. The buck stops at the top.

Uhhh, I love how everyone is getting all up on Hillary's case about this when it was staffers sending around an email. It's not like she made this public and said anything about Obama or how he is dressed in the foto.

It's lame that her staffers are sending stuff like this around, but whatever. we all send stoopid emails to our friends, coworkers, etc.

Hillary wasn't the one to put this in play, the Drudge report did. And then Obama's side got all upset, forcing a response.

It's all the same old politics on both sides, as much as people would like to believe that it's not. Oh well, they're both better than McCain and the past 8 years...that's all the really matters.

this is so stupid!!!

Holy Cow, now that takes the cake for me. I liked HRC until this picture showed up. I can imagine the people who have seen this must think he is a radical muslim deceiving us all and coming in the backdoor. Between the hooziers and rednecks, (chuckle) they won't vote for him outta fear. Shame, shame. The darkside will be overcome.

ha ha ha, you know it! Hey, I DO wanna have some fun! Link me up to that discussion! YOU know what i'm talking about mm.

Angelina, Never you are a bad b*#&%! too. We have to love one another because everyone else hates us.

Pattcee, My guess you are another kamikaze ten cent blogger. You just don't recognize brilliance when you see it.

This is dumb, both sides sound like children.

zrink, my thoughts exactly. MM you are a bad b*#&%! That's why i love you!! I fear the day that you turn your sharp tongue against me!

Most of you sound like extremely judgmental and shallow individuals who have little or no life of your own. Why not express something positive or would that be too taxing for your little minds.

The worst part about this and the other 'Obama is a muslim' stuff that gets circulated, is the unspoken message that Islam is evil, or at least dangerous. (The photo probably doesn't actually have anything to do with Islam, but the smear sure does.) For any of those 'smears' to work, including this one, you have to start with the Islam=bad viewpoint. I know there are people out there who fear Islam, but feeding off the very worst feelings and impulses of Americans is a very bad thing.

Of course it is Angelina. Obama has jug ears, I say so. Hillary is a cow. I say so. I just can't stop.

OMG...Tsk tsk MM. You are mean woman! Plus, do you REALLY think it's a good idea for us to attack Hillary for her feminine / less than feminine attributes?

What do you suppose she is dressed for in that fat butt and cankles outfit?

This sickens me. Hilary has sunk to a new low.

Desperation is like stealing from the Mafia: you stand a good chance of attracting the wrong attention. - Doug Horton

She's looking more and more desperate every day and it may well backfire on her in the end. She reminds me of a cameleon that desperately changes at every corner in survival mode. Doesn't seem to be comfortable in her own skin.

Hillary is looking and acting desperate. Retired Gen Scott Gration, "He did what any great leader should do. He accepted the gift, accepted the hospitality, accepted that token of friendship …" Yes, he did. It's looking good for his diplomatic abilities. Maybe we will have a decent foreign policy when he is elected. Hillary is a corporate cow.