People need to be careful not to take this out of context, which is exactly what this short clip does. It makes us look bad. I’ve just watched it a couple of times. Here’s the transcript as best as I can get it:
Stephanopolous: You mentioned your Christian faith. Yesterday you took off after the Republicans for suggesting your Muslim connections. Just a few minutes ago Rick Davis, um, John McCain’s campaing manager, said they’ve never done that. This is a false and cynical attempt to play victim.
Obama: You know what? Uh, uh, I mean, these guys love to throw a rock and uh, hide their hand.
Stephanopolous: The McCain campaign has never suggested you have Muslim connections.
Obama: No, no, no, but, but, the, uh, I don’t think that, when, you look at what is being promulgated on Fox News, let’s say, and Republican commentators who are closely allied to these folks...
Stephanopolous: But John McCain said that’s wrong.
Obama: But, well, look, listen, you and I both know that the minute that Governor Palin was uh, was forced to talk about her daughter, I immediately said that’s off limits, and, and, and, and...
Stephanopolous: John McCain said the same thing about questioning your faith.
Obama: And what was the first thing the McCain campaign went out and did? They, they said uh, look, uh, these liberal blogs that support Obama are out there attacking Governor Palin. Let’s not play games. Uh, what I was suggesting...you’re absolutely right that John McCain has not uh, talked about my Muslim faith, and you’re absolutely right that that has not come...
Stephanopolous: Christian faith.
Obama: My Christian faith...and, well, what I’m saying is he hasn’t suggested that I’m a Muslim, and I think that uh, his uh, his campaign uh, upper echelons have not either. What I think is fair to say is that uh, coming out of the Republican camp, there have been efforts to suggest that perhaps I’m not uh, who I say I am when it comes to my faith, something which I find deeply offensive, and that has been going on for a pretty long time.
Doesn’t matter. What does matter is that he will be forced to spend massive amounts of time denying it, which will just focus attention on it. You know the MSM spent a lot of time on McCain’s Shiite/Sunni slip. Well, there’s a hell of a lot less difference between a Shiite and an Sunni than there is between a Muslim and a Christian.