Obama dismisses growing poll numbers identifying him as Muslim as 'misinformation'

President Obama said Sunday he does not spend much time thinking about recent polls showing that a growing number of citizens question his Christian faith and believe he is Muslim.

When asked about the polls and citizens who continue to question whether he was born in the United States, Obama said on NBC: “I can’t spend all my time with my birth certificate plastered on my forehead."

“I don’t think the American people want me to spend all my time on it," he said.

Obama, who was born in Hawaii and says he is Christian, said the questions that persist are part of a "misinformation" campaign.

"The facts are the facts, right? So, we went through some of this during the campaign. You know, there is — a mechanism — a network of misinformation that in a new media era can get churned out there constantly," Obama said.

A recent poll from the nonpartisan Pew Research Center showed a growing number of citizens believe Obama is Muslim, not Christian. The same poll showed a declining percentage of the public who say the president is Christian.

According to the August poll, 34 percent of Americans said Obama is Christian, down from 47 percent in March 2008. The poll showed that during the same time, the percentage of Americans who believe Obama is Muslim rose from 12 percent to 18 percent.

Obama also told NBC he did not watch the Saturday rally that brought scores of conservative activists to Washington and the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The "Restoring Honor" rally was hosted by Fox News commentator Glenn Beck and also featured Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate.

“I’m making decisions that are not necessarily good for the nightly news and not good for the next election, but for the next generations,” he said.