Obama not worried about Muslim rumors
The fact that only 34% of people correctly identify him as Christian doesn't bother the president, he tells NBC. 'There is a mechanism, a network of misinformation… in a new-media era.'
Los Angeles Times
Michael Memoli, Tribune Washington Bureau
August 30, 2010
President Obama said in an interview Sunday that he can't worry about dispelling every rumor about him — even though a recent poll showed nearly 20% of Americans erroneously believe he is Muslim.
"The facts are the facts, right?" Obama told NBC's Brian Williams in New Orleans, where he was marking the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. "There is a mechanism, a network of misinformation that in a new-media era can get churned out there constantly.
"We dealt with this when I was first running for the U.S. Senate. We dealt with it when we were first running for the presidency. ... I will always put my money on the American people. And I'm not gonna be worrying too much about whatever rumors are floating on out there."
A poll released by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center earlier this month showed that 18% of people believe Obama is Muslim — up from 11% in March 2009. Only 34% said, accurately, that he is Christian, down from 48% last year...
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