I've seen various Internet sites claiming that in Iowa, Senator Obama called Palestinians "the most oppressed people on Earth." Can commenters supply information about an original source (rather than a third-hand Internet claim) about whether Senator Obama really said this? Even if one accepts the theory that Israel is entirely responsible for Palestinian "oppression," and that the Palestinians (unlike, for example, the East Germans in 1946) bear no responsibility for their current situation, it seems preposterous for anyone to believe that Palestinians are more oppressed than, say, Darfuris or North Koreans. Accodingly, I hope that the quote is just an unfounded Internet rumor.

Update: Impressively fast reader comments explain that Obama never said such a thing; the "quote" is a very garbled version of something he did say, and which is a very mainstream observation.

Further update: I participate in the ListServ of the National Council of Editorial Writers. One of the main purposes of the ListServ is to provide information about astroturf letters to the editor, or about other LTE issues. I sent a memo to the ListServ explaining that the purported Obama quote is fake; thanks to VC commenters for helping to expose the truth about the false quote.