Bruce Feiler - Where God Was Born, Abraham, Walking The Bible

Barack Hussein Obama
Tuesday, January 2, 2007

I've been looking for somebody to say something interesting about Barack Obama's middle name, Hussein, ever since some Republicans began making it their new favorite fact about the shooting star. Slate chimes in now with a history of the middle name as attack slur. It points out that middle names—often the maternal maiden name—came into fashion in the United States in the middle of 19^th century. Only three of our first 17 presidents carried middle names: John Quincy Adams, William Henry Harrison, and James Knox Polk.

But the bottom line: the name could prove costly.

The research of Grant W. Smith, a professor of English at Eastern Washington University, who has studied how voters react to the sounds of candidates' names, suggests that Obama's name could hurt him with undecided voters, who, since they sometimes cast ballots on the basis of vague sentiments, may be influenced by a candidate's unusual moniker. Surnames have a far greater impact than middle names, said Smith, who thinks voters will actually groove to the rhythm of Obama—though, he notes, it "would be better to have the accent on the first syllable"—O-bama (Apparently, names that echo the soothing cadence of nursery rhymes appeal to voters). Smith acknowledges, however, that Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden stir "very powerful associations" in the minds of Americans.

Obama's "Hussein" highlights the surprising, if very occasional, utility of middle names in politics, particularly in attack politics. Middle names can be particularly helpful in undermining a candidate's manufactured image. Consider Jim Webb's effective middle-assault on incumbent George Allen in the Virginia Senate race. To fend off charges that Webb applauded flag burning, a Webb aide repeatedly derided "George Felix Allen Jr." for choosing to "cut and run" rather than serve in the military during Vietnam, as Webb did. (Allen shares a first name and last name with his father but technically is not a junior

This was a brilliant swipe, since "Felix" conjures up not the image of a football-tossing, Confederate-flag-waving good ol' boy, as Allen portrayed himself, but of Felix Unger, the kvetching, overfastidious bachelor of TV's The Odd Couple.

Update: It's not just the last name. RawStory has news that CNN mixed up Obama and Osama last night.

Labels: Islam, Politics in America

Posted by B Feiler at 9:08 AM
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