Armenian-American activist Annie Totah – a member of Hillary Clinton’s finance committee – has sent an e-mail to Jewish circles citing a classic anti-Obama article that says the Illinois senator’s “full name alone conveys the biographical fact that he has some elements of a Muslim background.”

The controversial article further states that “[i]f a white candidate belonged to a church where the minister promoted an anti-black, anti-Semitic theology he would be roundly subject to criticism.” Totah’s cited article has been condemned by many Jewish leaders, one saying it provides “a preview of what the GOP smear campaign would look like should Obama win the Democratic nomination.”

 

ARMENPAC Images: Annie Totah with the Clintons

Ben Smith at Politico, who has received a copy of Totah’s e-mail, writes on his blog:

[…] 

I’ve obtained a copy of an e-mail from Annie Totah, a Washington society figure and Armenian-American activist who’s also a member of Clinton’s finance committee. The e-mail, titled “Barack Obama’s Poor Record on Israel,” went to a list that includes Anne Ayalon, wife of the former Israeli ambassador.

“Please read the attached important and very disturbing article on Barak [sic] Obama. Please vote wisely in the Primaries,” the e-mail read, attaching a long piece from the American Thinker blog that’s become central to the sub-rosa anti-Obama chatter.

The American Thinker calls speculation that Obama is actually a Muslim “overheated” (!) and “unfair,” and never crosses the line into the more outlandish stuff you can find elsewhere on the Web. But it does go well beyond anything the Clinton campaign has touched (and more obvious elements of Obama’s position, like his words and votes), and draws together a long litany of items from his church (which it says Obama joined out of expedience) to the fact that former Knick Allan Houston raised money for him to make the case that he’s a “disquieting” candidate when it comes to Israel.

Annie Totah is the Co-chair of ARMENPAC, a recently-formed Armenian-American lobbying group that is yet to catch up with the mother organization it broke from, AAA, and especially ANCA.