Quick question:
Do you know if there’s a broader context to the last Obama quote you posted, “I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.”
The reason I ask, is that it seems so explosive on its face. Could it really be that nobody in the media picked up on this line, even during the recent period where polls where showing confusion on his religion?
Political winds are shifting now, coincidentally - Hurricane coming Nov 2, in fact.
I think you'll need to purchase both of Obama's books and actually check the quotes for yourself. It doesn't appear to me that people are able to accurately provide quotations on the internet anymore. To me, altering people's words is despicable, but we seem to have lost 'shame' as a virtue.
This is the actual quote:
"Of course, not all my conversations in immigrant communities follow this easy pattern. In the wake of 9/11, my meetings with Arab and Pakistani Americans, for example, have a more urgent quality, for the stories of detentions and FBI questioning and hard stares from neighbors have shaken their sense of security and belonging. They have been reminded that the history of immigration in this country has a dark underbelly; they need specific reassurances that their citizenship really means something, that America has learned the right lessons from the Japanese internments during World War II, and that I will stand with them should the political winds shift in an ugly direction."
Some people have tweaked the wording to make it look like he is saying something he's not. I've never agreed with this tactic, but whatever. All's fair in love and war.
Thanks, mills044. Someone had frmailed me the list, and FReeper tutstar was kind enough to locate the exact quote. Check out # 22:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2614263/posts?page=22#22