What's in a name?

John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
William Jefferson Clinton
Lyndon Baines Johnson
Ronald Wilson Reagan
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Richard Millhouse Nixon
George Herbert Walker Bush, Sr. & Jr.
Barack Hussein Obama

What's in a name? Apparently a lot of shame and embarrassment judging from the fallout over the use of Barack Obama's middle name by an MC at a John McCain rally recently. I find it very telling and even a bit laughable how there is all of this hand-wringing over the use of his middle name, but absolutely no outcry over the use of other famous people's middle names like the ones listed above. That couldn't possibly be because these other middle names are not near as problematic to some as the obviously Muslim name Hussein, could it? Maybe, just maybe, even though they would never admit it, Obama and his supporters are actually ashamed and embarrassed by the name.

Some are saying "he can't help the name his parents gave him," and that's true. It's no big deal, it's just a name. Now, my question is, if having a middle name of Hussein is no problem, just like the names Wilson, Jefferson, Rodham, Delano, etc. are no big deal as Obama's supporters claim, then why are they making such a big deal over it's use? No one ever automatically assumes there is any malice of forethought or vitriol involved when people use Ronald Wilson Reagan, Hillary Rodham Clinton, etc. Yet, let one person at a campaign stop or on a radio talk show dare utter the the name Barack Hussein Obama and they are automatically labeled a hate-monger and an anti-Islamic bigot.

Here's the real deal. Hussein IS Obama's middle name and its use as such IS okay. Its proper use as such IS NOT racist or bigoted in anyway and only a racist bigot would would make it out to be that. However, it must also be acknowledged that the name Hussein IS a Muslim name, and the fact that it is, is problematic for some people in a post 9/11 world. That doesn't automatically mean Obama is a practicing Muslim or a Muslim extremist sympathizer either. Nor does it automatically mean that those who have a problem with the name Hussein are hate-filled racist bigots. Might some use his name and place particular emphasis on Hussein as a means of calling attention to it, sure. And those people need to search deep within themselves and very closely examine their motives.

What all of this does mean is that in light of of the murderous actions of Saddam Hussein and other terrorists and despots with Muslim names, many Americans feel that America is not ready for a president with a Muslim name. There is nothing wrong with that at all. There is also nothing wrong with calling the candidate by his given name, Barack Hussein Obama.

Jim Chitty