By Bill Fletcher, Jr. | SACOBSERVER.COM WIRE SERVICES

(NNPA) - I came across a front page article in the Washington Post (6/30/2008) concerning the rumors that are being spread about Senator Barack Obama. I, probably like you, have been hearing about these rumors but I must confess that I have put them aside. They have seemed so completely over the top that I found it difficult to take them seriously.

I am now taking these rumors, or at least their potential impact, very seriously.

Since early in the campaign an electronic smear operation has been underway against Senator Obama. As many commentators have pointed out, it is precisely because of the near anonymity of the 'campaigners' that this assault is not only so devilish, but also difficult to counter.

Much like urban legends, e.g., alligators in the New York City sewer system, these rumors start taking on a life of their own. No one knows who originated the rumors but they come at you with such speed that they begin to seem believable.

In the case of Senator Obama the rumors range from his allegedly being a Muslim (so what, if this were true!!!), to having been actually been born in Africa, to not reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

As the Washington Post pointed out, in discussing a small Midwestern town, these rumors have become so strong that even in the face of confirmed denials, people will take the fact that there is a proliferation of ''information'' on the Internet as being a credible counter-balance.

This situation, by no coincidence, is akin to the information we were bombarded with prior to the invasion of Iraq. Whether it was about weapons of mass destruction or alleged connections between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda, these all turned out to be false, if not outright lies.

Yet, it is reported that approximately a quarter of the population STILL believe these to have been correct. I was stunned when several former students of mine repeated these erroneous ideas without a bit of shame; and without a bit of substance.

The anti-Obama rumor phenomenon must be understood as having two inter-related, though independent features. The first, and probably most obvious, is the question of race.

The proliferation of these rumors to the point that so many white people allege to be confused, provides an opportunity for them to vote against Senator Obama yet not feel the tingle of racism.

As the main character in the Washington Post story implied, he was so confused he did not know what he was going to do. Thus, despite the lack of any credibility in the Internet rumors, and the fact that they can each be easily disproven, the Internet rumors provide a cover for many whites to pretend that there are too many unknowns about Senator Obama to justify supporting him.

This, despite the fact that so many of them are drowning as the economy pulls them under, and as they watch their children go off to illegal and senseless wars.

The other feature has to do with the politics of irrationalism in the USA. Right-wing ideologies, including but not limited to right-wing populism, often appeal to raw emotion, ignorance and fear.

They suggest that the unknown is not only impossible to ever understand, but also dangerous. Education that promotes tolerance and scientific investigation is treated as a threat to closely held views, to the point that the right-wing will not allow the facts to get in the way of their opinions.

The anti-Obama rumor phenomenon is entirely consistent with this irrationalism, and is actually reminiscent of the anti-water fluoridation campaign that the right-wing extremists of the John Birch Society launched in the 1950s, suggesting that it was a communist plot to poison the population.

The John Birch Society felt no need to support their contention with any scientific investigation and research. It was simply enough to spout—time and again—their fears and prejudices.

The anti-Obama rumor campaign joins together racism and a sort of ideological irrationalism (racism itself clearly being irrational). It appeals to every fear that white people can possibly have. But most importantly it provides many of them with a comfortable shield.

There is no need to seek the truth because they have received enough emails to confirm their views. They can hold to the view that Senator Obama is a Muslim DESPITE the weeks of coverage of Senator Obama's feud with his former CHRISTIAN pastor, Rev. Wright.

The answer, for the irrationalists is simple: all politicians lie. So, we witness a tragedy unfold. White working people and many in the professional-managerial group, have found their lives slipping away from them. Their living standard is declining, and they face—along with the rest of us—a chilling economic future.

They see wars unfolding, and often feel too powerless to stop them, even when they want to. Yet, in the face of a candidate who campaigns on the basis of a need for dramatic changes in the USA and an alteration in the relations of the USA with the rest of the planet, they freeze. Such change is too scary; too uncertain…oh yeah, one other thing: too Black.

Bill Fletcher, Jr. is a Senior Scholar with the Institute for Policy Studies and the immediate past president of TransAfrica Forum. He is the co-author of the newly published book ''Solidarity Divided'' concerning the crisis of organized labor in the USA. He can be reached at papaq54@hotmail.com.