61 million Americans think president is a Muslim

Serious political danger for the White House, it says here.

Among those who say Obama is a Muslim, 60 percent [37 million] say they learned about his religion from the media, suggesting that their opinions are fueled by misinformation.

Well, that's not a very nice thing to say about the media, is it.

Independents, too, are now more apt to see the president as a Muslim: Among independents, 18 percent say he is a Muslim, up eight percentage points [since March, 2009].

Nearly double. There's a spot of tarnish on the noble "independents."

25 percent [77 million] say most Muslims in the United States are not patriotic Americans.

Nice. And the strongest representative demographic within the poll:

More than a third of conservative Republicans now say Obama is a Muslim.

What's really sad is, that's not at all surprising.

And it serves their purposes and goals to keep saying it for the above reasons: the "media" insist on wallowing in these unseemly, fabricated controversies and even the "independent voters" are catching the wave. Most heartening for conservative Republicans is the insidious anti-American attachment to "most Muslims."

Of course that accusatory tastelessness has long been a feature of even "mainstream" conservative commentary having to do with Barack Obama but the anti-American Muslim combo is extra special.

I can't say I would ever have expected any White House to be in "serious political danger" for coming to the defense of the Religion Clauses of the First* Amendment. But like he said, this is America.

* It even comes before the Second.