Ugliness Exposed

Some time ago, I began receiving e-mails, some of them from people I knew, questioning Barack Obama's patriotism, religion, and even citizenship. When I talked to colleagues and others about them, they said at the time, "Not to worry. They're isolated e-mails from wackos and they don't pose a threat to Obama". It may be time to re-think that one.

There has been an organized, down low e-mail campaign whose main purpose is to undermine Obama's Americanism among the very white, working class voters who are so hesitant to support him. It's already made his campaign, as it pivots toward the general election, re-state broad themes about Obama's background as a uniquely American story.

That these smears come through the Internet is no surprise. Its very openness, which so many rightly treasure, allows outright falsehoods about Obama to become truths to some, no matter how often they're debunked. One example, courtesy of my friends at Politico.com: Obama is quoted as saying the national anthem carries a war-like message. He never said anything of the sort. Another, which I've seen myself, says Obama was sworn into the Senate on the Quran. He wasn't.

This would just be one of countless political smear campaigns if not for the fact that an astonishing number of voters cite these falsehoods in polling. Despite the Rev. Wright flap, one in ten Americans still think Obama is a Muslim. Such is the power of organized Internet smearing. None of it has been traced directly to Republicans, or their operatives. Despite the ugliness of the primary campaign, one doesn't think it comes from the Clinton camp either. At a point, it may not matter.

That it has to be rebutted says a lot about us as a nation.