This is in reply to a friends email to me. Stick with me to the end and understand my position.

No doubt we could go back & forth on this for a while, but my main objection to the post was its inaccuracy. Obama is not now, nor has ever been, a Muslim. I can find no compelling evidence to the contrary. The Washington Post article you cited seems to confirm that Obama is indeed what he says he is. It also points out the inaccuracy of some of his detractors. One example from the article--

* Bryan Keelin of Charleston, S.C., who works with an organization of churches there, posted on an Internet board his suspicion that Obama is a Muslim. "I assume his father instructed him on the ways of being a Muslim," said Keelin, who described himself in an interview as a conservative Republican who will vote for former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.

But in fact--

* Obama's parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced.--
* His knowledge about his African father, who returned once for a brief visit in 1971, came mainly through family stories and photographs. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama

There are more examples, but why make this a book?
Maybe the bigger issue here is whether we should ever attack any candidate based on his religious beliefs. If we open that door to allow attacks on a (reputedly) Muslim candidate, it also opens that same door to attacks on Jews, Catholics, even fundamentalist Christians. Certainly, there are plenty of people attacking Huckabee and Romney on issues of faith, and plenty of their supporters are deeply offended by that criticism--even when based on true accounts of their beliefs.

In defense, I was making an observation of the point that Obama was a Muslim. I had been reading various sites where he said he was, and where he said he wasn't. I was not making an attack on him, nor was I criticizing him. However, politics should not be based on faith only, but it does have a small part. It is not the only issue. Here is a website for some reading:

http://www.debbieschlussel.com/archives/2006/12/barack_hussein.html

I don't place al merit in that site, but there is some truth.

Why not attack candidates, if we must attack them, based on issues such as lack of experience, positions on our foreign oil policy and NAFTA, plans (or lack thereof) for reforming healthcare and revitalizing our economy, education reform, etc.?
Ok, let's do that. Besides being a first lady and a small time Arkansas lawyer, what experience did Hillary have? You take say she has experience as a senator, because she was a carpetbagging politician who rode the merits of being first lady to win that position. Edwards served a single term in the Senate. Obama served eight years in the Illinois state Senate and is halfway through his first term in the U.S. Senate. Clinton is about to begin her eighth year in the U.S. Senate. Going by years spent as an elective official, Obama's 11 years exceeds Clinton's seven, which in turn exceeds Edwards' six. They all come out about the same, even when you factor in Clinton's youthful work on the House judiciary committee's impeachment inquiry, her membership on the board of the Legal Services Corp., her chairmanship of the Arkansas Educational Standards committee, her crafting of an unsuccessful national health-care bill, and her sharing Bill Clinton's bed (most) nights while he was Arkansas governor and president of the United States. McCain and Huckabee has all them beat on experience with McCain served 21 years in office and Huckabee serving 19 years. Inexperience is the Democrats catchphrase this year.

By the way, about Hillary's photos--I'd like to know how any of us would look (especially at her age) after the grueling campaign schedules the candidates have been following? In fact, most of the male candidates look worse than that on their good days. My gosh, have you looked at Fred Thompson? Maybe it's a sexist thing, people expecting her to look fresh & wrinkle-free at all times. They had better all be glad we're not voting based on looks. And crying? Come on. If more men would let loose with the tears once in a while, they'd have less heart disease & fewer ulcers. Since when does crying make a woman less capable? Many women I know are quite a bit more capable than their husbands when it comes to running their households, finances, children, etc., and they all have a good cry from time to time. And I would hardly call this "the first sign of stress". This has been an unusually heated campaign already, and we're almost a year away from election day. It could also be argued that she was tearing up because she was so passionate about the issue being discussed.
She was tearing up because she is passionate about becoming president. She admitted that she wants this so bad. She wants to be known as the first female president. She wants to make her legacy in history.
Also, I made no comments on her age. Those were the pictures I found to put on here. I have seen Bush cry and I have seen Clinton(Bill) cry when they were president. I just never saw them cry when they were behind a campaign race or after a debate. I also doubt she was stressed out from running her house, finances or children. And a side point, do you see where Thompson is in the polls? I think American is speaking their minds on age.

Don't get me wrong--I'm no supporter of Hillary, or Obama, or even Huckabee, for that matter. But already, at this early point in the campaign, I'm growing weary of the personal attacks and inaccurate information being passed around. I guess I just had to get on the soapbox about it!

Debate and freedom of expression is what makes this country great. I made no personal attacks that were not observable by countless other people. I support a candidate based on merit, what he wants to do and partly on morals. Some candidates just want to continue the cookie cutter policies of their party and have no real ideas. They say what people want to hear and hide behind past politicians merit.

Thanks for the interesting letter. I appreciate your opinion and you do bring up some good fodder for discussion. At least there are people that do care and keep up with issues instead of just sitting back complaining.