Why are so many people quick to accept that barack obama is a muslim, even though he isn't?

not that there's anything wrong with being a muslim, but there are plenty of people out there who cite this as one of the main reasons why they won't vote for him. but why would they just accept what's said in some smear campaign? i doubt these same people would so easily accept claims that john mccain or hillary clinton is an atheist. so why don't these people just come out and say they're racists, and that the mere mention that a black person might be muslim is enough proof for them that he is? i mean really, you're not fooling anyone. if you're afraid of voting for a black person, don't dance around it like you're some all-american patriot, who would never vote for a muslim. just say you're a racist. you would at least carry with you the merit of being an honest bigot, or you could just say you'd rather not say why you won't for barack, but don't go around repeating some b.s. lie about him a muslim when he isn't.