Obama's 'Muslim' slip seized by rivals

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By Christina Bellantoni

ST. LOUIS | Sen. Barack Obama's foes on Sunday seized upon a brief slip of the tongue when the Democratic presidential nominee was outlining his Christianity but accidentally said "my Muslim faith."

The three words - immediately corrected - were uttered during an exchange with ABC's George Stephanopoulos on "This Week," when Mr. Obama was trying to criticize the quiet smear campaign suggesting that he is a Muslim.

Within one hour of the interview, anti-Obama groups had edited it out of context and were sending it around via e-mail. They also were blogging about it.

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Mr. Obama, who is a Christian and often proudly speaks about how his faith has influenced his public service, said he finds it "deeply offensive" that there are efforts "coming out of the Republican camp" to suggest "that perhaps I'm not who I say I am when it comes to my faith."

The exchange came after Mr. Obama said that Republicans are attempting to "scare" voters by suggesting that he is not Christian, which McCain campaign manager Rick Davis said was "cynical."