Obama camp: I'll save you the trouble. Here's your next press release:

"It took the International Press to reveal the disturbing nature of Mrs. Palin's religious beliefs. She has close ties to a Mr. Thomas Muthee, an African man who is essentially a witchdoctor, a man who has been active in the brutal persecution of religious minorities, arguably something akin to religious cleansing. Mrs. Palin calls the man, 'bold'. From her other related comments, it appears that Mrs. Palin believes the man's ';powerful' prayers had no small affect on the outcome of her successful bid for governor, completed less than two years ago. It has yet to be determined if Mrs. Palin sought Mr. Muthee's 'bold' counsel during her very short stint as governor. We know from experience that religion and politics don't mix. It seems the Sarah Palin has brought us to the sad place where that iron rule must be amended to add, "Neither do politics and witchcraft mix".
Worse still, it has been revealed that Mrs. Palin is a member of what could be called a doomsday cult. The cultists are trained survivalists, and believe that Alaska will be a refuge after armageddon, which the Bible says is inevitable. Mrs. Palin's church is described as a "Bible believing" church (snicker). Do we want someone who is actively planning for armageddon just one cancer-riddled stress-blown artery away from the big red button? Rumor has it that Reagan had "Push here to eradicate evil" engraved on the button. Mrs. Palin has described herself as a Reaganite."

Drudge is great, but he links to some of the worst drivel. An example is his link today to the London Times online story connecting Palin to a charismatic African preacher. His name is Thomas Muthee, he runs a congregation in Kenya. Here are the talking points that potentially emerge for the hungry movement left:

First, it's noted that Palin spoke highly of Mr. Muthee, particularly in regard to his blessing her in 2005, prior to her gubernatorial run. In reading her account of it, one is struck by Palin's humility, "As I was mayor and Pastor Muthee was here and he was praying over me, and you know how he speaks and he’s so bold. And he was praying “Lord make a way, Lord make a way."  And I’m thinking, this guy’s really bold, he doesn’t even know what I’m going to do, he doesn’t know what my plans are. And he’s praying not “oh Lord if it be your will may she become governor,” no, he just prayed for it. He said “Lord make a way and let her do this next step." And that’s exactly what happened.”'
The article continues, quoting Palin as saying “So, again, very very powerful, coming from this church,” after the presiding pastor introduced her by commenting on the “prophetic power” of the 2005 event.
Here are the talking points.
1. Palin is a religious nut, she thinks prayer affects things.  
So do most Americans, and so does science. It's not clear how, but it is clear that prayer does affect things. Did Muthee's prayer make her governor? Probably not, but it certainly didn't hurt. Does Palin think that it was responsible? Probably not. And it goes without saying that Palin would tell her fellow worshipers that the prayers made in their church make a difference. What's the alternative? "Don't bother, no one is there, you're just talking to yourselves. I only come to this church to improve my political viability."
2. Palin thinks this guy is responsible for her being governor.
This argument will be made, but anyone making it is not a serious person.

Second, the article goes on to paint Mr. Muthee as a witch doctor. In the 1990s, crime was plaguing Mr. Muthee's community. After prayer and fasting, the church members identified a woman as the cause of the problem, which Muthee referred to as "a spirit of witchcraft resting over the place." As the article describers her, "Mama Jane ran a “divination” centre called the Emmanuel Clinic." She was eventually harassed by the police and left town. The church claims that crime then fell to zero.
One juicy talking point emanates from this:
1. Palin is connected to a witch doctor.  
Is it incredible to think that some Africans might speak of witchcraft where Americans would speak of demons? Of course no such things could actually exist, so Muthee looks like an idiot anyway. If crime did go down, these folks probably did the right thing - and they took their time doing it, six months of prayer and investigation. And the town turned against the woman en masse - but they're just a bunch of savage Africans, right Timesonline? You know more about what was happening in their community than they do. Clearly there was no foundation in truth to their claims, since prayer and other superstitious mumbo-jumbo had poisoned their minds. They are religious wackos, but 'Mama Jane' and her "divination centre" are the voices of sanity. Muthee and his witch hunting clan believe in hateful religious poison, MJ believes in something vaguely religious that is not Christianity, so she's a big hero or a big victim, depending on the narrative. She couldn't be a criminal, or a charlatan, since those arrayed against her represent everything wrong with humanity.

And are we to assume that Mrs. Palin ought to have investigated Mr. Muthee's claims before being seen in the same church with him? Fine, let's apply that argument to Obama's pastor/mentor, the incredibly pissed off "Reverand Wright", and we'll see where that leads.  Mrs. Palin heard him talk about the power of prayer eradicating crime from an otherwise peaceful neighborhood, a good thing. She had no reason to believe he had conducted his own little inquisition.

Finally, the grandaddy. Here is the last paragraph:
"Her June 8 speech was to mark the graduation of students from the Wasilla Assembly of God’s Masters’ Commission, which, as Pastor Ed Kalins explains, believes Alaska will be the refuge for American evangelicals upon the coming “End of Days”. After her speech, Mrs Palin was presented with an honorary Masters’ Commission diploma."

It just doesn't get any better than this.
1. Palin belongs to a group that thinks Alaska will be some kind of survivalist stronghold. She's basically a militia member, the ultimate freak.
We can only pray that we can actually get to Alaska if nuclear war breaks out. This sounds like old fashioned state love and pride to me, as well as common sense. In a survival at any cost situation, Alaska would be a good place to be, if you knew how to live a rugged life. But that's wacko talk, right? End of the world  - ooooh! I agree, so let's beg off with the environmental disaster garbage we've been hearing for generations. Everything is the end of the world to the left.
2. This is the only degree Palin has (add whatever punchline fits).
This is part of what the left hates about her. She hasn't been through the cookie-cutter conformity mill of highest education. How can anyone without a doctorate in leftist BS be capable of 'running' America? To the rest of us, this is appealing. She ran a successful business, then apparently brought the small town of Wasilla out of the stone age. Anyway, this degree is worth more than what some colleges pump out.
But to the left, the math is clear: Palin thinks Muthee is powerfu l + Muthee believes in witchcraft = Palin is the high priestess of witchhunts and superstitious religious gobbledygook, and it's time to sell the population on the idea that she rides a broomstick to her wacko church.

Now they have even more reason to hate her. She actually believes in a power greater than the state, she believes in a loving God. And to guide her life she follows a book that is essentially dedicated to Christ. Obama's unfolding game plan was laid down virtually point by point in the book "Rules for Radicals", which is literally dedicated to Satan. It was written by a communist who speaks admiringly of the antichrist. By the left's logic, I guess that makes Obama Satan's little helper, or something. I don't know, it's all pretty confusing.

TOTA