U.S. Muslims hail Powell statements

For many Muslim- and Arab-Americans, comments former Secretary of State Colin Powell made over the weekend about what in their view is the Islamophobia surrounding Sen. Barack Obama’s candidacy were a much-needed salve on a festering sore.

On “Meet the Press” Sunday, Powell said what many Muslims and Arabs said they have waited to hear from a prominent figure like Powell throughout the 2008 presidential campaign.

Addressing the false rumor that Obama is a Muslim, Powell said: “The really right answer is: What if he is? … Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer’s no. That’s not America. Is something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president?”

Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Council of American Islamic Relations’ Chicago office, called Powell’s comments “a real morale booster.”

“With many politicians looking the other way out of political expediency, here was someone who called truth to power,” he said.

A DVD about Muslim radicals distributed en masse in swing states and questions over Democratic candidate Barack Obama’s religion have left Muslim- and Arab-Americans weary of what they see as widespread antipathy toward Islam in the U.S.

Washington

Clothing expenses rose with Palin

The Republican National Committee spent about $150,000 on clothing, hair styling, makeup and other “campaign accessories” in September for the McCain campaign after Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin joined the ticket as his running mate.

The RNC now says the clothes belong to the party committee while the McCain campaign says the clothing will go to a “charitable purpose” after the campaign.

The expenses include $75,062 spent at Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis and $41,850 in St. Louis in early September. The committee also reported spending $4,100 for makeup and hair consulting. The expenses were first reported by Politico.com.

The RNC also spent $4,902 at Atelier, a stylish men’s clothing store in New York. Other purchases included a $92 romper and matching hat with ears for Palin’s baby, Trig, at Pacifier, a baby store in Minneapolis.

Obama has black vote, survey finds

Sen. Barack Obama could set records for African-American support on Nov. 4, according to a national survey released this week by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

Black support for the Democratic nominee is often a matter of party allegiance, and is compounded this year by unhappiness with the Republicans’ handling of Hurricane Katrina, the Iraq war and a sour economy. But it is also amplified by black pride and a sense of history.

Obama’s strength with black voters is unsurprising, said David Bositis, the senior research analyst at the Joint Center who oversaw the survey of 750 African-American adults. Bositis said Obama is on track to equal, or even surpass, Lyndon Johnson’s record 94 percent share of the black vote in his 1964 landslide over Barry Goldwater, who, like this year’s Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, represented Arizona in the Senate.

The survey found Obama leading McCain 84 percent to 6 percent, with 10 percent not saying how they were leaning. But Bositis expects that 10 percent to break in the same proportion as those declaring a preference, which would give Obama 94 percent of the black vote, tying Johnson.

ORLANDO, Fla.

Race tight in Sunshine state

With less than two weeks until Election Day, a new Orlando Sentinel poll indicates the presidential race in Florida is still a tossup but hints that Republican Sen. John McCain may be gaining the traction he desperately needs.

The poll, by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, shows McCain leading Sen. Barack Obama 46 percent to 45 percent. With a margin of error of 4 percentage points, that’s a dead heat. Pollsters interviewed 625 likely voters from Oct. 20-21.

The numbers represent a 3-point shift from early this month when Obama held a 2-point edge over the Arizona senator. It is the first time since August that Mason-Dixon had McCain in the lead.

Perhaps most significantly, the new poll shows McCain leading Obama 47-44 in the Tampa Bay area. In early October, Obama had a 4-point advantage there.