Drudge Report Blames Clinton Staffers For Obama African Photo Release

According to the Drudge Report, someone from the Clinton campaign staff circulated a photo of Sen. Obama wearing a traditional Kenyan outfit during a five-country tour of Africa in 2006 --

With a week to go until the Texas and Ohio primaries, stressed Clinton staffers circulated a photo over the weekend of a "dressed" Barack Obama.

The photo, taken in 2006, shows the Democrat frontrunner fitted as a Somali Elder, during his visit to Wajir, a rural area in northeastern Kenya.

The senator was on a five-country tour of Africa.

"Wouldn't we be seeing this on the cover of every magazine if it were HRC?" questioned one campaign staffer, in an email obtained by the DRUDGE REPORT.

In December, the campaign asked one of its volunteer county coordinators in Iowa to step down after the person forwarded an e-mail falsely stating that Barack Obama is a Muslim.

Obama campaign manager David Plouffe took Drudge for his word that the picture was released from the Clinton camp and responded quickly and harshly against the nature of which the picture was released:

On the very day that Senator Clinton is giving a speech about restoring respect for America in the world, her campaign has engaged in the most shameful, offensive fear-mongering we’ve seen from either party in this election. This is part of a disturbing pattern that led her county chairs to resign in Iowa, her campaign chairman to resign in New Hampshire, and it’s exactly the kind of divisive politics that turns away Americans of all parties and diminishes respect for America in the world.

The significance of the release of this picture at this time -- just before primaries in Ohio and Texas -- is in regards to a false rumor that Obama is secretly a Muslim; when, in fact, he is a devout Christian, and has written about it in-depth.

Some would assume that the more narrow-minded voters in the upcoming Ohio and Texas primaries would have all the confirmation they need to believe Obama is a Muslim, and vote against him explicitly for that reason.

Unfortunately, there are Americans who believe that all Muslims dislike Americans. This is not true. We can go into this topic at a later date.

Some believe Obama swore in with his hand on the Koran. This, along with the false belief that Obama is Muslim, is false. In Minnesota, Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN) did, in fact, swear in using the Koran, despite outcries against it.

Wasn't our country founded on the basis of religious freedom?

Around the world there are extremists and radical practitioners of every faith. The 9/11 attacks came from extremists of the Muslim faith. Abortion clinics have been burned to the ground by extremists of the Christian faith. Wars have been waged because of misunderstandings based on religions.

We are a country established on freedoms -- religion being one of them -- so why would Americans ever be up in arms about the religion of our country's leader anyway?

Under normal circumstances, there would be no issue with pictures of potential presidents-to-be wearing traditional garments received during world travels. In fact, in that same Drudge Report link (at the bottom) you will find pictures of President George W. Bush, former President Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and daughter Chelsea with similar pictures.

A Parting Thought...

Had the 9/11 attacks been caused by and extremist group of Christians, how would Americans have reacted? Would the country openly discriminate against the Christian faith as a whole, much like they have the Muslim faith?