Obama and Muslim voters a "double whammy?"

By Michael Conlon - Analysis CHICAGO (Reuters) - Barack Obama should be able to count on heavy support from U.S. Muslims in the November election, if polls are correct, but he risks offending some members of that faith by having to explain he is not one himself. The number of votes at stake is small since Muslims account for only a fraction of the U.S. population and there are no reliable figures on how many are registered to vote. But with a recent history of close presidential elections, no vote can be discounted when Democrat Obama, who would be the first black president, faces off against Republican John McCain. A survey from the Pew Forum on Religion and Politics found that 63 percent of U.S. Muslims either considered themselves to be Democrats or leaned in that direction, compared with 11 percent who said they were... [read full story]