Does Obama really matter when all the other potential Demonrat Presidential candidates' middle names are also Hussein?
Posted on 01/21/2007 11:12:03 AM PST by Chi-townChief
Today's quiz, dear readers, asks you to provide the middle names of these United States presidents:
1. Franklin Roosevelt
2. Richard Nixon
3. Woodrow Wilson
4. Abraham Lincoln
5. Alexander Hamilton
The answers, of course, are: 1. Delano; 2. Milhous; 3. Woodrow; 4. I don't know; and 5. Wait a minute, that's a trick question.
As far as I can tell, Lincoln -- also known as "the guy on the $5 bill" -- didn't have a middle name. But that didn't stop him from being one of our truly great presidents and an inspirational figure for the entire world.
Alexander Hamilton, the guy on the $10 bill, is considered the father of the U.S. banking system but was not a president. I'm not sure about his middle name, either.
But I do know the middle names of Bill Clinton, Rutherford Hayes, Ronald Reagan, Lyndon Johnson, Harry Truman, both Bushes and William Taft. They are, in no particular order: "Walker," "Baines," "Jefferson," "Howard," "S," "Herbert Walker," "Birchard" and "Wilson."
Why should anyone care about the middle name of any of these presidents? That's a good question. A lot of middle names -- and that seems to be the case with several of these presidents -- come from someone else in the family. That's true in my own case; my middle name comes from my dad. One of my sons has "Thomas" as a middle name and the other two have middle names that come from their grandfathers.
I guess it's different with Barack Obama. By now, just about everybody knows Obama's middle name is "Hussein" -- he was named after his father, Barack Hussein Obama Sr.
For the last couple of months, though, no opportunity has been missed by detractors of Illinois' junior senator to include "Hussein" whenever his name is mentioned.
"Aha!" we are supposed to say. "You can't fool me. I bet that Obama guy is really Saddam Hussein's nephew."
All of which, I guess, is designed to remind us that we should only elect presidents with decent, American-sounding names like Millard Fillmore and Warren G. (for "Gamaliel") Harding.
No one will ever go around asking, "What kind of a name is 'Gamaliel?'" But having a Muslim-sounding name? That's pretty suspicious.
Lately, I've started getting e-mails that suggest Obama is, in fact, a Muslim in disguise. When he was a kid of 7 or 8, I am told, he attended a Muslim school in Indonesia. Today, he may proudly proclaim his Christian faith and his membership in a mainstream Protestant denomination. But, we are to believe, that's all shadows and fog to cover up a nefarious plot -- apparently hatched when he was in second grade -- to put a Muslim in the White House.
That's some plot. Guy goes from being a church-based community activist on the South Side to being an obscure state senator. He runs for Congress and loses, but a couple of years later emerges from a big field of U.S. Senate candidates after all the front-runners self-destruct. He demolishes an out-of-state wacko in the general election, makes a remarkable speech at the Democratic National Convention that nominated hapless John Kerry and becomes a media darling and the political equivalent of a rock star.
Maybe this was all written by the same people who concocted the TV series "24."
Which brings us to the present and Obama announcing last week that he is taking steps that are likely to lead to a run for the White House in 2008.
As I wrote in this space a month ago, I am undecided on Obama.
Don't get me wrong. I think he is smart, articulate and a very attractive candidate. Try as I may, I can't find anything about him that appears phony; he might just be the real thing. Obama may currently be vague on specifics but there is plenty of time for those to emerge. His general message -- that this country has been torn apart by vicious political maneuvering for far too long -- is a valid one. Right now, however, I am still not sure that Obama, whom I see as untested and with not that much solid experience, is the guy for the job.
Having said that, I am glad he's running. Obama will become the first African-American with a legitimate chance to win the White House. Similarly, Hillary Clinton will be the first woman with a legitimate chance to win. And that says that this country is moving forward in ways that never before seemed possible.
I must admit to being concerned about Obama's personal safety in the months and years to come. There are, I believe, people in this country who cannot stand the idea of an African-American as president. We have seen harm done to several presidents, and to other leaders in our society. For him to run is a brave act and one in which he is forfeiting much of his private life for this country.
For Obama, the tough part is just starting. It's been something to see his meteoric rise; now we get to find out what it truly means.
If he can convince us that he is the right person to bring this country together -- and keep it strong and safe -- Obama may indeed accomplish something that's never happened before.
Who knows? We might even start to think "Hussein" isn't such a strange name.
Tom Houlihan can be reached at (708) 802-8820 or thoulihan@starnewspapers.com
I hope Obama at least bought Hot-Lips dinner.
And who might those detractors be?
Ahem, Could one of them have the middle name starting with "R..." by any chance?
What is Tom Houlihan's middle name? Foolihan? Or is it Dhimmi?
"Obama will become the first African-American with a legitimate chance to win the White House."
They will talk about his middle name.
They will talk about his smoking.
They will NOT talk about him being half white.
Anyone know why Bill Clinton's mother chose the name Jefferson for him? Was it a family name or was she particularly into American history.
Somehow I doubt either. But how did it happen?
Well, Hussein and Obama (rhymes with Osama) do bring up pretty negative connotations.
He should change his name to a more Western-sounding combination such as Adolf Mussolini Fidel.
Funny how Hitlery's minions are pushing the "Obama is Muzzie" debate.
There are, I believe, people in this country (and millions more worldwide), who cannot stand the idea of someone who was raised a Muslim disavowing it, and claiming Christianity.
And one of them will likely do him harm sooner than the Americans you are referring to, Mr. Houlihan.
Gee, and here I always thought Ol' Slick's middle name was Joebob.
I bet he isn't too concerned about President Bush's personal safety.
How about the fact that Obama tries hide his middle name and the fact that he is half White.
Nothing phony about this guy, nothing at all.
"Hussein" is only a problem if he's a republican and the President's surname is "Bush."
Virginia Cassidy named him William Jefferson Blythe IV after his supposed father (killed in a car accident while she was pregnant), whom she had sort of married (he hadn't divorced his previous wife at the time of his marriage to Virginia Cassidy). The first William Jefferson Blythe was probably born in the middle of the 19th century.
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