How powerful a rumor can be: One out of ten Americans believe that Barack Obama is Muslim. Opponents of the Democrat politician have seen to that. But the same survey also shows that Obama is still much more popular than Clinton – despite the recent controversy with the Reverent Jeremiah Wright.
One out of 10 U.S. citizens believes that the presidential candidate is Muslim. This false impression has spread throughout all political camps, as demonstrated in a representative poll by the Pew Research Center. Approximately half of the 1,500 polled know that Obama is Christian. The rumor that the senator from Illinois is Muslim was spread by conservative radio hosts and throughout the Internet.
10% of Democrats, 14% of Republicans, and 8% of Independents believe Obama is Muslim. Mostly conservative, less educated, white Protestants were most likely to believe this untruth. The Democrats who shared this belief were those already not favorable of Obama, regardless of skin color.
Obama’s rise in the poll cannot be contributed to the controversial statements by his former pastor on the topic of racism. 49% of those polled favored Obama as the candidate for the Democratic nomination, 39% preferred his rival Hillary Clinton. A poll published on Wednesday (March 26) for the TV channel NBC and the Wall Street Journal showed a similar lead for the black senator from Illinois.
Reverend Jeremiah Wright caused a stir with his statements that America is racist and the government is a source of Aids. He also added that the attacks of September 11, 2001, were punishment for the foreign policy of the United States. Shortly thereafter, Obama felt it was time to give a keynote address on the topic of racism. A week ago, he appealed to Americans to eliminate the divide between a black and white America.
The Pew poll was carried out by telephone interviews from March 19 – 22 to eligible U.S. voters. The probability rate of error is 3%.
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