As someone trained to look for accuracy, I am increasingly alarmed at what people will attribute to President Barack Obama. A pernicious email traveling the internet includes four statements which, taken at face value, are indeed damning. They are, however, perfect examples of how anyone can twist words to attack someone with which they disagree. They are also examples of how people can take one statement or sentence from an entire speech and make the statement appear far different from the context of that speech.

Statement #1: "We're no longer a Christian nation." - President Barack Obama, June 2007

The actual statement: “Whatever we once were, we’re no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of non-believers.” When he delivered the speech, he omitted or failed to say the word “just.” No matter what faith people possess, the written statement above is accurate based on the breakdown of religious faiths in the United States.

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Statement #2: "America has been arrogant." - President Barack Obama

The actual statement is from a speech delivered in Strasbourg, France. “Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.” In terms of working with Europeans to bring about common goals, Obama is stating that we have at times looked down on Europeans. Who hasn’t made a comment or reference to Europeans as snobs who look down on the USA? In fact, Obama continued by saying, “In Europe, there is an anti-Americanism that is at once casual, but can also be insidious. Instead of recognizing the good that America so often does in the world, there have been times where Europeans choose to blame America for much of what is bad.”

Statement #3: "After 9/11, America didn't always live up to her ideals."- President Barack Obama

The actual statement comes from a speech delivered in Cairo, Egypt: “And finally, just as America can never tolerate violence by extremists, we must never alter our principles. 9/11 was an enormous trauma to our country. The fear and anger that it provoked was understandable, but in some cases, it led us to act contrary to our ideals. We are taking concrete actions to change course. I have unequivocally prohibited the use of torture by the United States, and I have ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed by early next year. So America will defend itself respectful of the sovereignty of nations and the rule of law. And we will do so in partnership with Muslim communities which are also threatened. The sooner the extremists are isolated and unwelcome in Muslim communities, the sooner we will all be safer.” Obama was referring to torture as being the opposite of our ideals. Can any patriot honestly say that torturing people is an American ideal?

"You might say that America is a Muslim nation."- President Barack Obama, Egypt 2009

The actual statement comes from an interview with Laura Haim on Canal Plus, a French television station. “And one of the points I want to make is, is that if you actually took the number of Muslim Americans, we'd be one of the largest Muslim countries in the world,” Mr. Obama said. “And so there's got to be a better dialogue and a better understanding between the two peoples.” Numerically speaking, Obama is just plain wrong about that, with some twenty-seven nations having larger Muslim populations.

My point is this: when you disagree with someone, do your homework so that your attacks can be the most effective. When attackers merge words together or take statements out of context, they open themselves to accusations of inaccuracy, and thus diminish the strengths of their argument. Attack Obama on the facts involving health care, attack Obama on the facts of gun ownership, attack him on the facts about tax changes, or troop levels in Afghanistan, or a number of issues. Attack Obama on the inaccuracies of his speech before Congress for there is no way he can pass health care without adding hundreds of millions of dollars to the deficit. Attack him with facts, people. Attacking him on things he did not say or mean makes you look foolish.