Bloomberg Defends Obama against rumors

I was glad to see this covered by the New York Times yesterday on their website. Here is a bit what Mayor Bloomberg said

Speaking before a crucial constituency in the coming election, Jewish voters, in the pivotal state of Florida, Mr. Bloomberg said that rumors of Mr. Obama secretly being a Muslim represent “wedge politics at its worst, and we have to reject it — loudly, clearly and unequivocally.”

“Let’s call those rumors what they are: lies,” said Mr. Bloomberg, who has been mentioned as a potential running mate for both Mr. Obama and Senator John McCain, the likely Republican nominee.

I ALSO LIKED THAT HE DID DISCUSS THE MOTIVATION BEHIND THE RUMORS. HERE IS A BIT OF THAT

Mr. Bloomberg is Jewish, but he rarely discusses his faith in public. On Friday, he broke with that tradition. He joked about sitting through long Jewish holiday services (“I thought Yom Kippur was the longest day of the year”) and referred to “our people.”

Mr. Bloomberg, an outspoken supporter of Israel, said that fears about Mr. Obama’s faith “are cloaked in concern for Israel, but the real concern is about partisan politics.”

“Israel is just being used as a pawn, which is not that surprising, since some people are willing to stoop to any level to win an election,” he said.

Jewish voters, he added, “have a particular obligation” to fight such false claims.

PLEASE CHECK OUT THE COMPLETE STORY ON THE NEW YORK TIMES WEBSITE BY CLICKING THIS LINK OR ANY OF THE LINKS ABOVE.