(Jake Turcotte)
Obama’s middle name - not in the talking points!
By Jimmy Orr | 10.09.08
It’s a war of words. Whether it is Sarah Palin’s overuse of the word “maverick,” John McCain’s anguish-inducing repetition of “my friends,” or the gaffe-laden potpourri emanating from Joe Biden, the words candidates say are always under the microscope.
Surrogates and supporters do best when they act like parrots – mimicking talking points rather than expressing a thought of their own. And actually, that’s fair. You don’t vote for spokespeople. You vote for the candidate.
Where’d they go?
Not everyone gets the memo.
When a spokesperson or a surrogate freelances, they head into deep water. Some are never to be seen again.
Carly Fiorina, of the infamous “Palin is not qualified to run a business” remark only to be outdone by her “McCain is not qualified to run a business” statement, currently resides with sleestaks in the Land of the Lost.
Former Senator and McCain adviser Phil Gramm, after the “we’re a nation of whiners” remark, is – especially now in light of the country’s economic meltdown – considered raw plutonium.
And what seems like millennia ago now, when General Wesley Clark was auditioning for vice president back in early August he decided to overly challenge John McCain’s military record. He’s now pretty much living in political outer space.
Just sayin’
But how are people supposed to know what is off-limits and what is OK to say if they aren’t paying attention to the political news every day?
First, if they are chosen to speak at a rally to introduce a candidate for president or vice president, chances are they’re paying attention. These people are rabid political junkies.
Second, the campaigns brief speakers ahead of time as to what’s acceptable.
Despite this, a campaign can’t control everything.
Oops
Take Lehigh County Pennsylvania’s Republican Party chair William Platt or Florida’s Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott. Both men served as speakers to warm up the crowd before John McCain or Sarah Palin came on stage.
Although their remarks were quite different, there was a commonality between them that is causing the McCain team a lot of heartburn. Because that commonality takes away from anything meaningful that might be said at the event and focuses attention on their remarks.
(That is assuming that meaningful things are said at rallies.)
“H” word
The commonality? The “H” word. As in Barack Obama’s middle name. Hussein. It’s something you just don’t say. It’s probably the second most disliked word in the entire McCain campaign (second to “poll”).
You can call President Bush “W” or you can mention Bill Clinton’s “Jefferson” at any time. Doubt there would be any problem with mentioning Sidney in the middle of John McCain.
But the mention of Barack’s middle name is dicey. Usage could link the Democratic candidate to Islam (he’s a Christian) or the reviled former dictator of Iraq.
Because of the implications, the “H” word is like touching the third rail.
Oops
But that didn’t stop Platt yesterday from saying it and repeating it.
“Think about how you’ll feel on November 5 if you wake up in the morning and see the news, that Barack Obama – that Barack Hussein Obama – is the president-elect of the United States,” Platt asked the crowd.
“The number one most liberal senator in the United States of America was, you guessed it, the ambassador of change, Barack Hussein Obama,” he said. “This election is about preserving America’s past and protecting the promise of its future.”
Inappropriate
As they’ve done in the past, the McCain campaign reacts quickly to the “H” word.
“We do not condone this inappropriate rhetoric, which distracts from the real questions of judgment, character and experience that voters will base their decisions on this November,” said McCain spokesman Paul Lindsay.
Pre deja vu
The Republican team had to deal with it earlier this week as well. This time coming from the fiery Sheriff of Lee County.
“There are three types of people in our country today,” Sheriff Scott explained to the crowd. “There are people that make things happen, there are people that watch things, and there are people who wonder what happened. On November 4, let’s leave Barack Hussein Obama wondering what happened.”
I ain’t done nothin’ wrong
The crowd ate it up. And the McCain campaign had to put out their statement disavowing it. But as the Fort Myers press later reported, the Sheriff has dug in his heels.
“I absolutely, unequivocally don’t regret saying it,” Scott said. “In order to be a speaker at this event, I had to give my full name — Michael Joseph Scott — to the Secret Service, even though I’m the sheriff of Lee County. So why would I apologize? Is there some kind of double standard here where I have to give my full name, but I can’t use his?”
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2. Frank | 10.09.08
Florida’s Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott: “Is there some kind of double standard here where I have to give my full name, but I can’t use his?”
It’s a question of intent; everyone knows what the sheriff was implying by using Obama’s middle name. He proved that he has no class (he is also in trouble for wearing his uniform in a political role).
3. ind fl voter | 10.09.08
I don’t see a problem with using the name. Don’t all presidents use their full name when they are sworn into the office? I guess the real question is why Obama is afraid of his on name? I mean if he really had problems with it he could have legally changed it many years back. Hussein was Obama’s father’s name. And Obama’s father was a Muslim. Not that there is anything wrong with that. So why is he so afraid? Obama grew up in Indonesia for 6 years in a predominantly Muslim country, so you would think he wouldn’t have as much problem with the name or the religion. Is there something more? Should we wonder what he is trying to hide?
4. jz | 10.09.08
It’s not that he’s afraid to use it. I’m quite sure Obama is proud of his middle name. It’s something that his parents gave to him. It’s the way the republicans are using the name that is wrong. They are using it to instill fear and misinformation to the American people. You just don’t see the dems talking about John Sidney McCain. People don’t go around as a rule calling other people by their full name.
5. marie | 10.09.08
I think you missed the point.
Its not the Obama camp that freaked out and put out the retracting press releases its the McCain camp. Palin likes calling Obama a terrorist for associating with Ayers but she wont associated him with a maniacle dictator by using his middle name, no no that would be too dirty and obvious.
6. Ken | 10.09.08
When as a country we can not state the truth, that is when we start to go down. When the McCain campaign do not allow truth being told, that is why McCain campaign has been going down.
The truth is: Barack Hussein Obama is Obama’s name. It is that simple.
8. Vickie | 10.09.08
Words have connotative and denotative meaning. When Fox and or the Republican party uses his middle name they are using it in it’s connotative sense. The tone is accusatory. It is as if being born with that name somehow makes him guilty of some unknown crime. Being black adds to the implication that he’s suspect. Palin repeatedly states “He doesn’t see American the way we do.” McCain refers to him as “That One”. These are not so veiled attempts to unearth deep xenophobic tendencies in white people.
9. chris | 10.09.08
Anyone who has a problem with Obama’s name is very bigoted and ignorant. America is supposed to be about diversity- that’s what our whole nation was founded on! We are all immigrants except the Native Americans, and our different races are what makes America so great.
Obama/Biden country first!
10. chris | 10.09.08
Anyone who has a problem with Obama’s name is very bigoted and ignorant. America is supposed to be about diversity- that’s what our whole nation was founded on! We are all immigrants except the Native Americans, and our different races are what makes America so great.
Obama/Biden country first!
11. mary m | 10.09.08
It’s his name “Barack Hussein Obama” but no one can say it. Give me a break and the people need to wake up and smell the roses. He was named that for a reason…you figure it out!!!
12. Blimfark Smith | 10.09.08
I was among a crowd of people when the story about the sheriff’s remarks was broadcast on a public TV. A man sitting next to me derisively exclaimed, “Oh, so now we can’t say his middle name.” To which I replied, “Hey, $20 if you even KNOW McCain’s middle name.”
He didn’t. THAT’S the difference.
McCain’s full name is actually “John Sidney McCain, III”. If that’s how the sheriff referred to McCain, I didn’t hear it.
13. Angela | 10.09.08
I do love getting distracted. We have a nation that is on the brink of financial ruin and we are so easily diverted from what is happening around us. I am sure that this is the point, isn’t it? Didn’t we focus on Swiftboat (whatever that really was) when John Kerry was running, and now we have to focus on something else not related to any real issue—–When will we ever learn? I thought Mr. McCain prided himself on integrity but this is now clearly not so.
14. j. DeWilde | 10.09.08
Everyone understands what speakers imply when they use Hussein, Barack Obama’s middle name.They imply that he is less than American, that he is not the equal of citizens with middle names like Sidney or Louise or Bernadette. We all understand what they are saying and doing: they are inciting fear and hate and disrespect. The intellectual dishonesty of people like the sheriff, bulging self importantly out of his paramilitary uniform, appalls and disgusts me.
15. Galoot | 10.09.08
Funny. I never heard McCain’s punctilious folks denouncing Willard Romney in the GOP primary. Unless you have pathetically transparent agenda, you assign people the name by which they are known. (Wasn’t Jimmy Carter’s preference respected when he was sworn into office?)
16. Robin | 10.09.08
There’s no “H word” here, and nothing to be ashamed of. Barack Hussein Obama’s middle name is Hussein. Hussein is not a cuss word. Yep, Saddam Hussein’s last name is Hussein. Hussein also happens to be part of the name of an internationally renowned London fashion designer (Hussein Chalayan), the man (Waris Hussein) who directed the first episode of the Dr. Who TV series, and many thousands, perhaps millions, of less well-known people from all walks of life in many nations throughout the world, including many American voters.
Mean-spirited children use people’s names to attack them. American adults will focus on deeds.
17. jennifer | 10.09.08
Hey Mary M.
Your stupid gene is showing. Many, many people throughout the world are named Hussein, and roughly translated, it means “good” or “handsome”.
And what does Obama’s middle name have to do with policy?
18. Angie | 10.09.08
So could one be named after Indra Gandhi or Nelson Mandela to be accepted by America for the highest office? Does a name like John or Joe be regarded as loose, and not sounding statesman-like? Lazy parents take easy names like John, Joe to name their children. Creative parents pick an unheard name like “Obama”. One advantage. You will not share same first name and last name with hundreds…. when you google your name you know that you are the only one; you are special; when you go to the bank; you identify yourself as the only one with the name; Why do we regard one to be unsuitable to be America’s president? Could one be named after Jesus to be considered a president? How about the names of Sarah Palin’s children - Twigg, Piper?
ALL IN ALL: Names off the game.
To Platt: Let’s act like adults; when you can tell the audience what your name means or can decode the meaning of McCain then move on to play the name game.
19. Mary | 10.09.08
Is this the politics of FEAR? Americans can do better than that, than go into low ends like Platt. America has better things to focus on than belittling each other with what our parents named us. Children do not choose to be on earth. Children do not choose names. Honor thy parents; so goes with the names they give us. How many of us could change names, if we could sit down and think about them? McCain should grow up to win my Christian vote.
20. John | 10.09.08
Frightening that he is an elected official who uses his uniform and office to intimidate AND writes an arrogant letter defending his behaviour. What is even more alarming is 50% of the calls he received in Lee County were in support of his actions. Wake up Florida—he knew EXACTLY what he was doing–inciting a large audience with hateful rhetoric. We are better and smarter than this!
21. d Miner | 10.10.08
John Hussein McCain my friends is the real terrorist. He would pick Sarah Palin to be President out of an entire country filled with remarkable people
22. Mike | 10.10.08
NEWSFLASH…Spin it any way you want Republicans. If you have any sense at all you know what this idiot sheriff meant. IT WAS NOT A SIMPLE USE OF A MIDDLE NAME. He meant to say it in a way that instilled fear and doubt to promote a political agenda. Mike Scott is a disgrace to his badge, uniform and his profession. I feel sorry for anyone who cannot see beyond race. It is sad…really sad. Barrack Obama IS an AMERICAN and it is clear to me that some people in this country have a very distorted view of what that means. This is 2008, not 1950. The civil war ended a LONG time ago, get over it. The excuse this party makes for their obvious inability to accept a person of another color is ignorant and pathetic. Barrack Obama is of mixed race anyway. His birth mother was white and his grandparents who raised him were white, not that it matters. Barrack Obamas grandfather proundly served the US Military unnder General Patton. Obamas story is an amazing American story that deserves respect whether you vote for him or not. Racism has no place in America. I pray for all of you who have so much fear and hate in you about Senator Obama. I could care less who you vote for, it just saddens me that some of you choose to attack in such a hate filled manner that is not factual or relivant. I am pround of Senator Obama for not giving into the attacks. As McCain might say THAT MY FRIENDS IS CHARACTER and worthy of respect.
23. eros 4 the dems | 10.10.08
why is nobody saying anything about mccains middle name ?
i think ( john sydney* mccain ) is very amusing .. so trying to bully people around with what their mothers and fathers had named their child should not come from a party who somehow still thinks that ( john sydney* maccain ) is suitable to be president of the united* states of america !!!
the joke is on you republicans after the nov. 4th election !!!
until then “eat our dust”
25. Ixia | 10.10.08
McCain takes his last name from the first murderer in the bible. Not just any plain murder, but fraternicide. “ And God said unto Cain,’where is your brother?’and Cain answered back saying’I do not know,I am not my brothers keeper.’And God said’what hast thou done?’the voice of the brothers blood crieth unto me from the ground.”
26. Ixia | 10.10.08
So making a connection between McCain and Cain of ‘Cain and Able’ is off limits? Why did you nix my comment?
27. Nicole | 10.10.08
My best friend is the daughter of Mike Scott and this is the most horrible thing to ever happen to her and her family. You may not understand this but he is human, whether you think it is right or wrong and there is no need for this to become national headlines. There is nothing I can say to her to make her feel better because of people like you who judge based on six lines of quotations from a man you’ve never met. Thanks
28. Restonian | 10.11.08
Well, perhaps some pundits should start introducing John McCain as John Sidney McCain, III, and stressing his wealthy background and the fact that he dumped his first wife to marry an heiress with whom he owns seven or more houses and 13 vehicles and spends nearly $300,000 annually on household help. Who’s the elitist again?
29. Reuel | 10.12.08
Obama is no agent for CHANGE.
He has not even lifted a finger to CHANGE his middle name - if it is that offensive to even mention.
30. LMills259 | 10.14.08
Folks, let’s boil this down to the essence. Republicans use Obama’s middle name because to their conservative supporters, it suggests something sinister and foreign. McCain’s middle name serves no such function to anyone. Enlightened people know that “Hussein” is like “Smith” in parts of the world, but that’s not who Palin, Scott, and crew are addressing when they’re riling up a crowd. Cut the sophistry. They use it to promote negativity and everyone knows it. I may disagree with you, conservatives, but I’m not stupid.
31. Tahbit Chowdhury | 10.14.08
I hope the American people can grow up and open its eyes. The greatness of America is burdened by many of its narrow-minded citizens.
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Jimmy Orr has worked in politics for the majority of his professional career working for two U.S. Senators, two Governors and one President. Most recently, Orr served as White House Spokesman and Internet Director for President George W. Bush and Special Advisor to Governor Schwarzenegger for Internet Communications.
David Cook is Washington bureau chief of The Christian Science Monitor and host of the Monitor's newsmaker breakfasts. He was the Monitor's editor from 1994 to 2001. Cook is a graduate of Principia College, served in the U.S. Army, was a Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University, and is a member of the Gridiron Club, Washington's oldest journalistic organization.
1. Jimb | 10.09.08
I wonder what Joseph Biden’s middle name is. Sarah Palin probably has a middle name. Perhaps the good sheriff and Mr. Platt should have been consistent by referring to everybody by their full legal names. Singling out one person’s name in a speech is done on purpose and is done as an insult. That’s why they do it.