Perhaps you didn't hear that Barack Obama is a Muslim Manchurian Candidate, but the rumor is making the rounds, and not just by word-of-mouth. Perry Bacon, Jr's Washington Post article (which ran in today's FPL newsreel) gives a pretty thorough account of the extensive disinformation campaign that attempts to tie Obama, Islam and terrorism into a neat little bundle. Dishonesty, bigotry and innuendo make a great team.

David Kirkpatrick's The Evangelical Crackup (remember that?) included a quote from a Kansan saying she wouldn't vote for Obama because he's a Muslim. Odds are that she didn't deduce his religion out of thin air. Bacon shows that there are enough subtle and not-so-subtle messages and signals floating around out there to conjure such a belief in people whose knowledge of Obama extends little beyond name recognition. It's similar to the way a majority of Americans came to believe Saddam Hussein was involved in 9/11. It is the matrix of the deceit; it is craven and disgusting.