How Many Of You Believed Obama

Why do many Republicans believe Barack Obama was born in Kenya without evidence?

A 2016 poll puts the number of Republicans willing to go out on a limb and assert Obama was foreign born at 29%. I spent 8 years trying to figure out why. The question uses a significant phrase “without evidence.” Indeed, the rumors of a foreign-born Obama took off before there was any reason given (plausible or not) to think it was true.I think some of that is just a way for those Republicans with a palpable hatred of Obama to disrespect him either in what they choose to believe or what they will tell a pollster, irrespective of what they actually believe.It appears to me that the bulk of belief that Obama was born outside the US is based on the human flaw of confirmation bias. Republicans are generally against Obama and that makes them biased to believe any negative assertion about Obama, and to collect these assertions, to give credence to inexpert opinion on expert topics, and to pass on rumors without checking them. Certainly Donald Trump’s popularization of the theories and demands for Obama to release a long-form birth certificate revitalized belief in theories in 2011.There is evidence, all of which fell apart under scrutiny, given to support the foreign-born Obama theory, but those who are biased would not go to the trouble to seek out the debunking of that evidence that was done, or would write it off as propaganda from the Obama political machine.Some of it is sheer stupidity, evidenced by the fact that belief that Obama is foreign born is negatively correlated with the level of education.I have always been reluctant to put racism at the top of the list of reasons, but a black man being president of the United States is a heavy blow to racists (who are more likely to be Republican than Democrat), and belief in a foreign birth for Obama means to them that Obama was not really president, being ineligible. You see Internet posts to the effect that they believe that one day the Truth will come out and every act Obama made and every piece of legislation he signed will evaporate (wouldn’t work that way).

Do some people really believe that Barack Obama is the antichrist, as I’ve heard on radio talk shows?

In 2007, there were three Democratic candidates running to get attention in Iowa for the 2008 caucus. John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, and a young freshman Senator from Illinois with a 'strange' last name: Barack Obama.However, in 2004, the original 'crypto-Muslim' rumor came from by eternal Illinois political candidate and serial litigant Andy Martin.Another rumor to surface was that young Obama was indoctrinated in an Islamic "madrassa" school in Indonesia. The Obama campaign aggressively battled this rumor to affirm his Christian faith, to the point where his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright became a campaign issue himself. The second part of your question, which you didn't precisely ask, is about his birth certificate, or the "Birther" movement. This theory came out of the Clinton campaign, as they circulated anonymous emails that questioned the Senator's citizenship - which would invalidate his eligibility to be the President by the rules set forth in the United States Constitution. Article II, Section I, to be precise. “Barack Obama’s mother was living in Kenya with his Arab-African father late in her pregnancy. She was not allowed to travel by plane then, so Barack Obama was born there and his mother then took him to Hawaii to register his birth,” asserted one chain email that surfaced on the site snopes.com. It took off like a virus, changed three times, and has caused many lawsuits and headaches for Obama supporters, and his Administration. The Obama campaign released his Hawaiian birth certificate, and it still didn't quell the Birther lawsuits.There were other theories as well, but where the irony lays is in Mr. Obama's challenger for the general election in 2008, Senator John McCain, also drew questions about his birth and eligibility to hold the highest executive seat.  Mr. McCain was born in the Panama Canal zone, on a military base. Technically, he wasn't born on American soil, and whether he met the requirements of being "naturally born" still has not been settled in a court of law. Mitt Romney, Chester A. Arthur and Barry Goldwater have also been the targets of their own "Birther" movements.Why people believe in these things? That's another question entirely.

How idiotic are Republicans for believing Obama was a Muslim?

They were not completely idiotic. Obama was raised as a Muslim and attended a Muslim parochial school. He did not appear to currently practice the Muslim faith.So: To believe he WAS a Muslim is not idiotic. To believe he IS a Muslim is idiotic.As a related issue, what was idiotic was the playing of the Reverend Wright tapes. It was a serious tactical error on behalf of the right-wing media. It is a serious misunderstanding of beliefs of different ethnic groups. A similar error is when they try to paint Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz as appealing to Hispanic voters.Before the Reverend Wright tapes, most of my African-American friends and family members were suspicious of Obama. Obama was part “African” not “African-American.” He did not have ancestors who were slaves. Africans often exploit African-Americans in poor communities and are seen as scam artists, i.e. the Nigerian letters and emails.As soon as Sean Hannity and others started making a big deal about the Reverend Wright, people started to say, “Hey, Obama’s preacher sounds like ours, he must be OK.” It also put to rest any ideas that Obama was still a Muslim.