Getting the Word Out

Barack Obama has a new Web site up dedicated to clearing up misinformation about him, particularly misinformation that's been spread maliciously. There are already four categories up at Fight the Smear, addressing whether or not Obama will say the Pledge of Allegiance (he will, and they've got tape of him leading it--hand over his heart--in the Senate), whether he's a secret Muslim (nope), whether he's a natural-born citizen (he provides his birth certificate to prove he is), and whether there's a tape of Michelle referring to "Whitey" in the pulpit of Trinity United Church (there's not, and there can't be, because such an incident never happened). We'll see how effective this is. On the surface, it seems like a good use of the Internet to get Obama's message out and to set the record straight. The site is set up to send information and links out by e-mail. I already sent an e-mail to the most recent person who raised the issue of Obama's Muslim upbringing with me. We'll see if there's any fallout.

Earlier today, Kevin Drum made an unfortunate point. The way we can expect this campaign to go, unless they start some sort of organization on the smears site, it's just going to get longer and longer, and users will have to scroll and scroll and scroll to find the particular smear they're looking for.