Innocent people have been passing around a web video launched by a political professional and career smear peddler that turns out to be a cynical and manipulative attack on Barack Obama’s reading of the Bible. The trickster’s claims about Barack’s faith are every bit as false as his claims that this amateurish video is really a TV ad.
The Truth About the Video
The video was launched on the scam artist’s website, PHforAmerica.com. He claimed that the ad “will air on TV immediately following the Democratic National Convention,” and he even asks for money to “help this ad air as often as possible in the key swing states.”
But real TV ads are most often produced in short, even lengths — usually 30 seconds or maybe as long as one minute. This supposed “ad” runs 2:09 and is so poorly made that it would never air on TV — and sure enough, it still hasn’t, even now that the Democratic convention has come and gone.
The Truth About Barack
With such a deceptive person behind this video, it’s not surprising that everything he says about Barack is deeply dishonest and wrong, too. The video takes 5 sentences out of a 4,500-word speech Barack gave in 2006 completely out of context to stoke division and hatred.
Far from mocking the Bible or people of faith, Barack’s speech actually celebrates the role of people of faith in public life and offers nuanced thoughts on the intersection of religion and politics. In his daily life, Barack reads his Bible regularly and respects people of all religious traditions and biblical interpretations.
UPDATE, 10/3: At the beginning of October, the scammer behind this deceptive home video announced that he finally got his “ad” on TV — but it turns out it only aired one time, at 2:00 a.m., on a single station in Pittsburgh.
Nothing has changed here. Barack Obama is still celebrating the role of faith in public life, the lies and deception in the video are still insulting and wrong, and the scammer is still untrustworthy. The amateurish clips on his website still feature the same low-quality video and audio that real 527s wouldn’t use — and the ads are also still missing the required legal disclaimer at the end saying who funded them.
The scammer’s announcement sounds realistic at first, but making scams seem plausible is what tricksters like him are known for. In the end, he’s even less credible now than he was when he first started taking people’s money.
USA Today: Barack Supports Faith-Based Programs:
Read this ArticleBarack Obama, arguing that it makes sense for the federal government to join with religious organizations to solve social problems, said Tuesday that he wants to continue President Bush’s initiative to promote “faith-based” social welfare programs.
Few are closer to the people than our churches, synagogues, temples and mosques,” the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said.
Obama delivered his speech after touring a community ministry in Zanesville, Ohio. The speech, designed to showcase long-held views on the value of faith-based programs, came a day after he spoke about patriotism.
Obama acknowledged that he “did not grow up in a particularly religious household,” but he said he changed because of his work as a community organizer in Chicago. “I came to see my faith as being both a personal commitment to Christ and a commitment to my community.”
USA Today: More on Barack’s Faith
Read this ArticleObama said he wants to make clear “what the facts are”: He is Christian; he was sworn into the Senate with a Bible; and he not only says the Pledge of Allegiance, he sometimes leads the Pledge in the Senate. “In the Internet age, there are going to be lies that are spread all over the place,” he said, but added that Americans can separate lies from truth.
Salon.com: The Democrats Get Religion
Read this ArticleMatthew 25 [a new political action committee launched by Democratic operative Mara Vanderslice] aspires to advance “a better Christian witness in politics” and challenge the dominance of conservative evangelicalism in swing states like Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia, and perhaps even the Bible Belt strongholds of North Carolina and Georgia. Deploying a rapid response on Christian radio to vouch for Obama’s faith, to defend him with what Vanderslice calls “an authentic Christian voice,” will be the PAC’s principal focus. “We’re going to have our hands full with smears,” she says, and combating them on English- and Spanish-language Christian radio “will be our niche.”