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KSFO's Rodgers falsely claimed Obama "admits in one of his own books" that he would "stand with the Muslims" against "the Western world"

October 22, 2008 6:16 pm ET

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SUMMARY: KSFO's Lee Rodgers falsely claimed Sen. Barack Obama "admits in one of his own books" that "in case of a confrontation between the Western world and the Islamic world, he will stand with the Muslims." Rodgers' assertion recalls a similar allegation in a chain email that has been previously debunked. As FactCheck.org documented, while discussing "my meetings with Arab and Pakistani Americans" in The Audacity of Hope, Obama wrote: "[T]hey need specific assurances that their citizenship really means something, that America has learned the right lessons from the Japanese internments during World War II, and that I will stand with them should the political winds shift in an ugly direction."

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On the October 22 broadcast of San Francisco radio station KSFO's The Lee Rodgers Show, host Lee Rodgers falsely claimed Sen. Barack Obama "admits in one of his own books" that "in case of a confrontation between the Western world and the Islamic world, he will stand with the Muslims." Rodgers' assertion recalls the false allegation in a chain email that in his 2006 book The Audacity of Hope, Obama wrote: "I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction." As FactCheck.org noted in debunking the email: "A second false quote has Obama saying he would 'stand with the Muslims,' words that don't appear in his book. What he actually said is that he would stand with American immigrants from Pakistan or Arab countries should they be faced with something like the forced detention of Japanese-American families in World War II." Even the false chain email did not go so far as to allege that Obama wrote that he would "stand with the Muslims" against "the Western world," as Rodgers claimed.

As FactCheck.org noted, on Page 261 of The Audacity of Hope, while discussing "my meetings with Arab and Pakistani Americans," Obama wrote: "[T]hey need specific assurances that their citizenship really means something, that America has learned the right lessons from the Japanese internments during World War II, and that I will stand with them should the political winds shift in an ugly direction." From The Audacity of Hope:

Of course, not all my conversations in immigrant communities follow this easy pattern. In the wake of 9/11, my meetings with Arab and Pakistani Americans, for example, have a more urgent quality, for the stories of detentions and FBI questioning and hard stares from neighbors have shaken their sense of security and belonging. They have been reminded that the history of immigration in this country has a dark underbelly; they need specific assurances that their citizenship really means something, that America has learned the right lessons from the Japanese internments during World War II, and that I will stand with them should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.

From the October 22 broadcast of KSFO's The Lee Rodgers Show:

RODGERS: This is late in coming, but it might be a factor by Election Day, since this ACORN outfit is in the news. Forty-five percent of voters think ACORN is trying to register voters illegally, but they're divided over whether Barack Obama has ties to that group. What's to be divided about? He was their bleeping lawyer, for God's sakes.

I'm telling you, these Obama true believers, the enchanted ones, they're just -- I think it's some form of self-hypnosis. They don't want to know the truth about this guy. Even when he admits in one of his own books, for example, in case of a confrontation between the Western world and the Islamic world, he will stand with the Muslims. He said so. But they don't want to hear it.

OFFICER VIC (co-host Tom Benner): No.

RODGERS: They don't care.

OFFICER VIC: Well, he's a Christian, you know. Lifelong Christian, Lee.

RODGERS. Yeah. Well, read the Quran, about fathers and sons -- fathers and offspring, period -- and you'll find that the faith of his father does not agree with him, no matter what he says, thinks, or wants. Let's see, what else we got?

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    • Author by magnolialover (October 22, 2008 6:20 pm ET)
         
      Oh, Lee, you're so funny. Standing up for American citizens that are being tarred and feathered, or worse, for having a religion that people are bigoted against is somehow standing up against the Western world as a whole? OK, only in your miniscule little mind. I would hazard to bet Lee, that you haven't even picked up A book, let alone Obama's books and read them. And this whole business about Obama being tied together with ACORN, sure, he and a bunch of other people, represented them in a case against Illinois to allow people to register to vote at their DMV. That's it, oh, and he spoke, for free, at a couple of their meetings. Get over it. Obama's not driving the ACORN train, nowhere near it. And the only reason people think that they're registering voters illegally (which they're not), is because schmucks like you, and, well, every other media outlet, keeps telling the American people that they are, when they're not.
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      • Author by nerzog (October 22, 2008 6:31 pm ET)
           

        Robert Kennedy Jr. was on Morning Joe this morning, and he pretty much drove a stake in the heart of this bogus ACORN controversy.   I thought he did a really good job, but Mike Barnacle acted like he still wanted to believe the Republican spin.

        I have nightmares of this election slipping away.  The Republicants have their propaganda machine hitting on all cylinders, and they may just overwhelm the truth with their paranoid racist bullsh*t..... again.

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      • Author by captfoster2 (October 22, 2008 11:56 pm ET)
           

        Actually magnolia......

        Lee may have got this story from an email that has been generated by one of those wanna-be rightwing lost causes that lives in his parents basement for the last 25 years.... my mom sent it to me..... snopes.com debunked it thoroughly.....

        Of course... I don't suspect Mr Rodgers would ever let the facts matter.....

        How's Melanie Morgan doing these days there Lee? hahahahahaha

        Report Abuse
        • Author by wzwriter (October 23, 2008 9:36 am ET)
             

          How's Melanie Morgan doing these days there Lee? hahahahahaha

          Melanie just got herself a new set of wheels:

          Report Abuse
    • Author by nerzog (October 22, 2008 6:26 pm ET)
         

      These people are such despicable liars.  In the passage cited, doesn't it clearly say that Obama was talking to "Arab and Pakistani AMERICANS"?  Of course, wink-wink.... we know that these aren't the "real Americans" that Governor Palintwit likes.

      Isn't this exactly what Colin Powell was talking about?  The Republican party is in great danger of turning into a cesspool of racism and xenophobia.  That's what they get for getting into bed with the Troglodytes on the Religious Right.  If they aren't careful, they'll be the party of Joe the Plumber, Archie Bunker and John Hagee.  I know that some of them think that's great, but it's not a very good place from which to run a country.

      Report Abuse
      • Author by snoopy (October 22, 2008 6:30 pm ET)
           

        One correction - the republican party did turn into a cesspool of racism and xenophobia. McCain helped drive the nail into the coffin of right wing control and set the stage for a democratic landslide that could very well shift the demographics for 40 years. The pendulum has swung back my friends, and with it I expect we'll see honest and true conservatives actively work to eliminate the right wing influence that has corrupted their party. I'm looking forward to that day and to seeing a real election where we get honest conservative policy debates again.

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        • Author by nerzog (October 22, 2008 6:34 pm ET)
             

          I hope you're right.  If Obama can hang on and win, I'm going to take an early lunch on the day after, just to hear the whinefest on PigBoy Limbaugh's show.  Schadenfreude?  You bet!

          Report Abuse
          • Author by wesley (October 22, 2008 7:29 pm ET)
               

            nerzog...I found this interesting from a new national AP poll:

            From all of their respondents...Obama was +10

            From registered voters...Obama was +5

            From likely voters...Obama was +1

            It looks like as always, it depends on...how many voters turn out...and who they are.

            Report Abuse
            • Author by OnceYouGoBarack (October 22, 2008 7:40 pm ET)
                 

              And which poll you look at.  A composite of serveral polls show Obama with a high single digit lead.

              Report Abuse
              • Author by wesley (October 22, 2008 8:57 pm ET)
                   

                To quote solon, one of our departed saints "anyone with more than two brain cells" knows that there are various polls.

                My interest was specifically in this AP poll...which showed a wide swing between the three types of respondents...not some composite polling polling data from an Obama supporter.

                This poll suggests that Obama has support from a significant number of people who aren't registered and unlikely to vote...leaving his margin razor thin in this specific poll...among likely voters...the ones who will decide the election.

                I look forward to seeing your polling data...with the same type of breakdown among the respondents...just a scholarly exercise that I'm sure you'll be glad to help with.

                Report Abuse
                • Author by skeptical (October 22, 2008 10:30 pm ET)
                     

                  Once again Wesley searches and searches for a poll that says what he wants it to say.  Where's the RCP Poll data Wes?

                  By the way, do you have a link to that latest poll?  I can only find the one done in September.

                  Report Abuse
                  • Author by Brabantio (October 22, 2008 10:40 pm ET)
                       

                    That's what I was wondering, whatever happened to the beloved RCP?  Looking a bit blue, it would seem.

                    Report Abuse
                • Author by Brabantio (October 22, 2008 10:38 pm ET)
                     

                  Is this the same poll where 44% of likely voters identify themselves as "born again"?  Do you think anywhere near 44% of the population consider themselves "born again"?

                  Report Abuse
                • Author by pearlene_scott1602 (October 23, 2008 2:31 am ET)
                     

                  Wes, to quote a former conservative poster, Rino, Rasmussen is the only poll conservatives rely on..

                  The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday shows Barack Obama attracting 51% of the vote while John McCain earns 45%. Obama has now enjoyed a modest lead every day for nearly a month.

                  It is difficult to overstate the stability of this campaign ever since the events on Wall Street brought a new wave of economic anxiety to the fore. Just before Lehman Brothers collapsed and started the Wall Street debacle, McCain held a very slight lead in the polls. Immediately afterwards, the race became more of a referendum on the Bush Administration and Obama moved ahead. The stability of Obama’s advantage in recent weeks suggests that it will be difficult for McCain to change the dynamic before the results are finally set in stone.

                  Report Abuse
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  • Author by snoopy (October 22, 2008 8:20 pm ET)
       

    I just love this graph from fivethirtyeight!

    Report Abuse
  • Author by historygeek001 (October 23, 2008 1:07 pm ET)
       

    I have to disagree with you on one point--I don't think that the Republicans are in danger of turning into a cesspool of racisim and xenophobia; I think they are already there.  The neocons have been sounding the call to arms along exactly those lines for decades without regard to whether their claims were even close to being true.  Politics has always been ugly, but they have, and are, catering to the fear of the OTHER, as those who cannot compete on the issues are always forced to do.  They want power at any cost and do not care who or what they damage to get it.  There are certainly Republicans that do not follow this path, but Republican leadership has been firmly taking the low road for years.

    Report Abuse
  • Author by carlileb5935 (October 22, 2008 6:43 pm ET)
       

    What are books?

    Report Abuse
  • Author by ukobserver (October 22, 2008 7:12 pm ET)
       
    Admit it. the more they go on, the more it just turns into a single loud buzzing noise!!!
    Report Abuse
    • Author by Col. Harlan Sanders (October 22, 2008 7:27 pm ET)
         

      Amazing. Even if this guys on a relatively small local radio station, just the idea that he's doing a show involving politics, and he's as intellectually discriminating as your average high-school dropout falling for a get-rich email scam.

      Report Abuse
      • Author by eddy3957 reregistered (October 22, 2008 9:03 pm ET)
           

        ...he's as intellectually discriminating as your average high-school dropout falling for a get-rich email scam.---CHS

        >>>You're letting him off the hook.  I think he knows better than what he says.  Consider this statement:

        I'm telling you, these Obama true believers, the enchanted ones, they're just -- I think it's some form of self-hypnosis. They don't want to know the truth about this guy.---Rodgers

        I say that is a carefully rehearsed/written pitch.   It's HE who's is doing the hypnosis on his audience!  And it's HIS AUDIENCE he assumes (correctly for the most part) doesn't want the truth!..........The trick the Right plays over and over again is to just reverse everything.  It's far worse to lie deliberately than to be stupid.

        As a matter of fact if you get confused by them, try reversing what they've said to see if it then rings any bells.

        Report Abuse
  • Author by OnceYouGoBarack (October 22, 2008 7:37 pm ET)
       

    Folks should check this site regularly:

    Fight The Smears

    Obama directly debunked this smear long ago. I guess you can't fault the nutty Cons from continuing to dissemenate it.

    Report Abuse
  • Author by donaldmaddog5642 (October 23, 2008 4:33 am ET)
       

    The advent of the personal computer has changed the way I (we) view the world and its workings.  My innocence has been destroyed.  When my day began with a couple of newspapers and maybe a few national magazines, I was so limited in my ability of make sense of it all.  In fact, Media Matters has played a large part in shocking me into a hell of awareness.  An insect like Lee Rodgers would have been unknown to me.  Media Matters' "Daily Summary" is enough to send me weeping back under the covers.  The seemingly endless administration of Ronnie Reagan was the beginning (for me) of a true "dark night of the soul".  The two nightmares of 2000 and 2004 are recurring with this election.  This great, wounded country cannot survive another four years of rule by the Super Right.  The hundreds of crazy people on radio and television and in the newspapers might make that possible.  There'll be no sleep for me for the next 12 nights.

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  • Author by pithaughn (October 23, 2008 11:09 am ET)
       
    Yes, and that engine has one thousand cylinders. I like to call it a thousand points of darkness. They, the dark forces within the far right neo-con movement just KNOW, are certain that if we would just let them mis govern for another 4 years, we would finally see the results of neo-liberal fiscal policy they have been promising since Regan took office. In fact, in their minds, the ends justify any and all means, even dragging this country into a corporate-oligarchy facist type of militaristic imperialism. I am scared out of my wits that this election will be stolen and we will then have a violent revolution on our hands as we overthrow them.
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    • Author by donaldmaddog5642 (October 23, 2008 11:19 am ET)
         

      You have articulated my fears perfectly, pithaughn.  How much more can we take?  The French reacted in terrifying ways, back in the day.  We now have safeguards against that happening today.  Remember Hungary?  Poland?  The thugs sitting in the White House should feel lucky that we are a law-abiding people, even if they are not.

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  • Author by pjcarter (October 23, 2008 5:03 pm ET)
       
    Pity that some people are going to believe this fool's lies. Oh and how's Melanie Morgan these days, Lee?
    Report Abuse
  • Author by tony rome (October 23, 2008 6:18 pm ET)
       

    These clown will say anything, no matter how outraegeous because they know their idiot listeners will believe it.

    Report Abuse

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