On Barack Obama's middle name

[pecunium]

Juan Cole sums it up.

Barack Obama's middle name is in honor of his grandfather, Hussein, a secular resident of Nairobi. Americans may think of Saddam Hussein when they hear the name, but that is like thinking of Stalin when you hear the name Joseph.

As someone pointed out elsewhere, "Should he be ashamed of being named for his grandaddy?"

Names can be powerful things, people put stock in them. Some people choose them; often to send a message (Benedict XVI) others are gifted with them to describe aspects of their nature (Babyface Nelson, Turdblossom).

To tar Obama with the associational aspects of that name (and who rememebers, anymore, King Hussein of Jordan?) is cheap. I wish I thought it wouldn't work, but I've already heard people talking about his, "Muslim ties" and the odor of, "Kennedy will answer to the Vatican" is buried in that idea; somehow being a Muslim (which he's not), makes one some sort of mindless automaton, who answers to some madmen holed up in the hills, or to ayatollahs in Tehran.

The smearing has started, in earnest.

Comments

[quercus.livejournal.com]

The smearing has started
Started?

Here in the UK, just about the only thing we know about Barack Obama is that Clinton has been making herself unpopular with a crass smear campaign against him for some weeks now. We generally liked Bill Clinton, but we hate negative campaigning from our own past experiences. This smearing has used up any popular capital the Clintons still had with us.

[fidelioscabinet.livejournal.com]

No, this is in reference to the efforts by the Republicans--because the Clinton campaign wasn't doing enough. They aren't going to wait until the Democratic candidate is chosen--they're going after both Clinton and Obama these days.