Urban legends are just that. Legends. I just got done reading Obama's book Dreams of My Father last week, which was first published in 1994, 2 years before he even ever ran for state legislature, It was the Indonesian step-father who had influence over him character-and values-wise for a whole whopping 2 years in early grade school. Religion was not the driver in that relationship. He barely ever met his real father, who was had a student visa in the US but went back to Kenya when he got done with school and left wife and baby behind. He came back to visit one time for a whole month when Barack was just a kid who didn't know what to do with this stranger. From his description of meeting the Kenyan side of the family after his father died, they are moderates and it sounds like his father was the same. I've known moderate North African Black and Arab Muslims both, good and kind and generous people, who despise radicals as much as we do.
Obama's inner city community work in Chicago was done through the churches and church leaders and he became a practicing Christian as a consequence. Before that he didn't believe in much of anything spiritually. The book is an exploration of social and cultural influences on character development and key character-development experiences in the man's life and how he came to look at our society and his place in it, long before he ever got into major politics. I recommend reading this book to get a better handle on him even if you don't plan on voting for him, he's going to be a national player for the long haul I think, even if he never takes the top spot. Repeating urban legends without going to the primary source does no one any favors. Use some other criterion to choose for or against a candidate, please, for example, foreign policy experience, by all means, if you think experience is more important than anything else. My morning kibbitz
