Hillary: well, Obama... could... be a Muslim...

 
On the March 2 edition of CBS' 60 Minutes, Steve Kroft interviewed Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton regarding the persistent rumors that Obama is a crypto-Muslim.

KROFT: One of the things that we found in Southern Ohio -- not widespread -- but something that popped up on our radar screen all the time, people talking about it, this idea that you're a Muslim.

OBAMA: Right. Did you correct them, Steve?

KROFT: I did correct them.

OBAMA: There you go.

KROFT: Where's it coming from?

OBAMA: You know, this has been a systematic email smear campaign that's been going on since, actually, very early in this campaign. Clearly, it's a deliberate effort by some group or somebody to generate this rumor. I have never been a Muslim, am not a Muslim. These emails are obviously not just offensive to me, somebody who's a devout Christian who's been going to the same church for the last 20 years, but it's also offensive to Muslims because it plays into, obviously, a certain fear-mongering there.

KROFT: It happened again last week when this photo of Obama, in ceremonial African tribal dress during a visit to Kenya, was featured prominently on the Internet and attributed to people in the Clinton campaign. Senator Clinton disavowed any knowledge of it.

KROFT: You don't believe that Senator Obama is a Muslim?

CLINTON: Of course not. I mean, that's -- you know, there is no basis for that. You know, I take him on the basis of what he says. And, you know, there isn't any reason to doubt that.

KROFT: And you said you'd take Senator Obama at his word that he's not a Muslim.

CLINTON: Right. Right.

KROFT: You don't believe that he's a Muslim --

CLINTON: No. No. Why would I? There's no --

KROFT: -- or implying, right?

CLINTON: No, there is nothing to... to... base that on, as far as I know.

KROFT: It's just scurrilous --

The reaction from the left wing blogs and the mainstream media (but I repeat myself) was predictable.

Newsweek: All You Need Is Hate

Stuffington Roast: Hillary Crossed the Line

MSNBC: It's close

MyDD asks "what's with the weird qualifiers?"

Media Matters shrieked that it was all a distortion.

Bob Cesca took it at face value: "In case you missed it, Senator Clinton basically said that there could be some truth to the rumors."

Cliff ("never heard of him") Schecter said, "This crossed the line. I am officially angry. Take my word for it."

Drudge Retort asked Hillary to "please shut up."

Obama supporter "A Bag full of Health and Politics" was incredulous: "Lest there be any doubt: Hillary Clinton is the worst kind of bigot, the poser who pretends to be tolerant... It figures, because it was Clinton who was behind the original incarnation of the smear, which appeared in Insight Magazine in January of 2007."

And Pat Dollard says Hillary's "throwing in 'kitchen sink' stuff, too... She is hitting Obama for not being candid about NAFTA, and she is even making some odd (and unpleasant) statements on his religion."

Well, I for one have no idea whether Obama is a Muslim or not. But I would recommend he steer clear of Malaysia for a while.

Also see: Gateway Pundit rolls up the extensive coverage.