During a Cincinnati rally, conservative talk show host Bill Cunningham referenced Barack Obama's middle name, Hussein. When asked about it later, John McCain felt the comments were inappropriate and refused to condone the behavior. Although this statement was well received by political pundits, it has left many people wondering why it is inappropriate to say Obama's middle name. Hussein simply translates to "beautiful," so it doesn't seem like it should be taboo to say it. By making it seem so illicit to reference his middle name, it seems like he is ashamed of it, and perhaps this is making it seem like a bigger issue than it should be. I don't think conservatives should be insinuating that his name makes him a terrorist of some sort, but I also don't agree that it should be such a big deal if it is said.
I feel Obama should address this topic and be proud of his name. By avoiding it and accepting the apology he's making it easier for opponents to use his name against him. He could have simply released a statement saying that he is proud of his heritage and what it means to him and I think voters easily would have accepted that he is a polar opposite of Saddam Hussein.
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He probably wants to avoid the topic because of the negative connotation it currently has. I mean, the nation isn't actually happy with the other gentleman that shared the name with Obama. However, I think that Erika is right in that Obama should embrace his heritage and show to the nation that he plans to give the name "Hussien" a new meaning. Shielding that part of himself might cause suspicion and give his opponents another weapon to attack him with. Of course, its always possible that the new connotation might be "bad president" but it would be a new meaning.
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