Obama Fizzling

Obama Fizzling?

According to the February 13^th Drudge Report “NY Times edit queen Maureen Dowd unloads on Barack Obama in her Wednesday filing… Dowd describes Obama as a “tad testy” as he was “traipsing around desolate stretches of snowy – and extremely white – Iowa. Obama had “ moments of looking conflicted”…Dowd snaps: “He poses for the cover of MEN’s Vogue and then gets huffy when people don’t treat him as Hannah Arendt”.”

A reading of the article in the February 14^th NYT suggests questions are being raised regarding lack of substantive Obama positions besides withdrawal from Iraq by March 2008. Dowd writes: “After talking to high school journalists, he took a sniffy shot at the loutish reporters who were merely whispering where’s the beef: “Take some notes, guys, that’s how it is done.”…”For a man who couldn’t wait to inject himself into the national arena,…., the senator is oddly put off by press inquisitions.”

Salon.com’s Camille Paglia wrote on February 14^th: “I love the way Barack Obama has nimbly upstaged the ponderous Hillary machine…But Obama’s effusive gusts of generalities irritate me; it’s all sizzle and no steak right now. He needs seasoning: 2012 may be his year.”

Senator Barack Hussein Obama has had a bad week since he formally announced his candidacy. He undiplomatically snubbed Australian prime minister because of his criticism of Obama’s Iraq position and called the death of more than 3000 American in Iraq a “waste”. He later apologized for his “waste” comment. If he continues on this track he is likely to transform the Dutch and other nations who have small contingents in Iraq into our enemies. On the positive side, Virginia governor may endorse him.

I also do not understand why the senator does not use his middle name Hussein. Is it to hide his Muslim ancestry? Actually, Barack is also a Muslim name but it is not recognized as such like Hussein, Mohammed and Osama. For a more detailed discussion of my views on this topic see my Iraq Conundrum write-up and its Obama Controversy section.

Since Senator Obama has chosen to follow his mother’s Christian religion and forsake his father’s Muslim faith, he is an apostate for most Muslims, particularly for “true believers”. Apostates are treated very harshly in Islam. As Theodore Dalrymple points out in his brilliant article, When Islam Breaks Down (City Journal, Spring 2004): “…the punishment for apostasy in Islam is death: apostates are regarded as far worse than infidels, and punished far more rigorously.”

For those who are curious, I am a naturalized American from India and my name in based on Hindu monkey God Lord Hanuman. I never had any problems professionally or socially. We live in a relatively affluent neighborhood and recently a Nigerian family bought a house. His name is Olu (for short), which does not seem to bother anyone. In casual conversation it became clear they were a Christian family who migrated from the southern part of that country; Muslims mostly live in the north.

The point is: we are a multiracial society and there is no need to hide the racial or religious heritage unless you want to fool people into believing something different than what you really are. Is Mr. Obama a secular-Christian as he proclaims or deep in his heart, because of his heritage, he is a really a Muslim? This is a reasonable question to ask as Mr. Obama seeks the highest and most powerful office in the country. Mr. Obama has done well as an American and he should try not to hide his Muslim heritage from Americans and should clarify his religious beliefs. I have not received any replies to my e-mail inquires from his office or his church, the Trinity United Church of Christ, regarding the influence of Mr. Obama’s Muslim heritage on his Iraq and Darfur positions and his current religious beliefs.