Obama-rama once again

A full SEVEN stories in the political section of the D/A in the last couple days have involved Barack Obama, which really comes as no surprise.

One worthy of the widest play is his response to the reckless B.S. put out by right wing press, Fox Noise, and other right wing blowhards where they imply something sinister because Obama supposedly attended a radical Muslim Madrassa while living in Indonesia.

As if that wasn't enough, the right wing-nuts then attempted to smear more than one bird with one stone by attributing the digging up of this scurrilous story to the Clinton campaign, and in one case, even linking it to the Edwards campaign.

Needless to say, the story is ridiculous on it's face, as Obama attended the predominently Muslim school when he was 7 and 8 years of age. Not only that, but sources at the school point out that while it's predominently Muslim, it's open to students of all faiths and is one of the most rigorous and respected academic schools in the country.

"The allegations are completely baseless," said Akmad Solichin, the vice principal at SDN Menteng 1, who added, "Yes, most of our students are Muslim, but there are Christians as well. Everyone's welcome here ... it's a public school."

Obama's teachers say he was good at math and a good student.

From this, the right wing feeds the rubes the story that he has been brainwashed in a radical Muslim school and therefore represents a threat to the country, as if he's a Manchurian candidate who will betray us to al Queda the day after he's sworn in.

This is the sort of comic book bull that many right-wingers eat with a spoon, but which anyone with any sense would immediately reject as hogwash.

The push-back was a signal Obama would fight to protect his reputation in the presidential campaign.

Many Democrats argued that Kerry's failure to challenge aggressively his critics in the 2004 presidential race cost him in his effort to unseat President Bush. A group with conservative ties, the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, charged that Kerry did not deserve the medals he won in the Vietnam War -- despite his combat record of bravery and valor. Kerry announced Wednesday that he will not run again in 2008.

"We will not be swift-boated," said Obama communications director Robert Gibbs. "And we won't take allegations that are patently untrue lying down."

Let's hope not.

Another piece notes the Obama campaign naming it's Iowa staff.

On Wednesday, he named Paul Tewes as state director, and Emily Parcell as Iowa political director, campaign manager David Plouffe said in an e-mail to supporters.

Tewes, a native of southern Minnesota, was caucus manager for Al Gore's 2000 campaign in Iowa. He worked for the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, and served for two years as its political director.

Parcell is from Iowa and worked on Sen. Tom Harkin's 2002 election campaign and the 2004 caucus campaign of former Rep. Dick Gephardt, as well as the Senate Campaign Committee.

And other pieces address his relationship with the supporters in entertainment and among African Americans.

A lot will hinge on the effectiveness and ability of Obama's staff. Does anyone have any insight on those he's chosen so far?