Smear Campaign Redux

Today's NY Times opinion page features a column by commentator Edward Luttwak on how the muslim world is going to lose their affection for Obama once they find out he is a Christian. Have no doubt, the main point of the article is not what it claims to be. The real reason for the article is to imply that no matter what he says, Obama is a muslim because his father was a muslim. The key paragraph is this one,

As the son of the Muslim father, Senator Obama was born a Muslim under Muslim law as it is universally understood. It makes no difference that, as Senator Obama has written, his father said he renounced his religion. Likewise, under Muslim law based on the Koran his mother’s Christian background is irrelevant.

Luttwak makes some flimsy argument about Obama being an apostate under Islamic law for whom execution is the Islamic punishment. Again, the only reason is to get the idea out in the American psyche that Obama is a muslim. Luttwak is an advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, which as far as I can tell is non-partisan.

Since when did we select our presidents based on what the standards were in other countries. If that were the case, we wouldn't have had Madeleine Albright or Condoleeza Rice as our Secretaries of State because they would have to represent us in muslim countries like Saudi Arabia where women don't have the same rights. This is a continued attempt to portray Obama as different than "us," as "other."

Update: This is now the second most emailed article on the NYT. I believe the NYT really should have been more critical about the intent of this column.

Update II: Others are also recognizing that this is another round in the smear campaign. Here's one take from the Huff Post. And another from fellow blogger, The Stopped Clock.