Posted by
Steve on Friday, February 29, 2008 1:23:54 PM
There has been a flap over Barack Obama’s middle name in the past few days. Some do not want it spoken or printed anywhere. I am not sure why they do not want it spoken or printed. It is his name. His parents gave it to him and thought him worthy to hold it. Maybe some people are ashamed of the name or afraid of what the name means. What a person is named has nothing to do with the person. A person makes his/her own way in the world and as such makes their own name.
Barack Obama’s middle name is Hussein. For many in the US, that brings up memories of Saddam Hussein the ruthless ruler of Iraq. For others, it brings up ideas that somehow a person with the name Hussein is a Muslim. Barack Obama is not related to Saddam Hussein. Barack Obama is not a Muslim. His father may have been a Muslim or have Muslim ancestors. If that is the case, the name Hussein does make some sense. It may have been that the name Hussein is just a family name in his father’s family. We do not know the origin of the name Hussein. Until that question is answered, nobody can criticize Barack for having the middle name Hussein.
As an example, my middle name is Thomas. There are no other family members named Thomas that I have been able to find in doing my genealogy. My father told me that I was given the name Thomas because he felt I needed to have a “regular” boy’s name. My father had the names Virgil and Archie. Neither name was common with the other boys in the playground. He was teased and got into fights because of his names. He did not want me to have the same problems.
Barack Obama could have the same kind of a story to tell about his middle name. As far as I know, Barack has not said publicly why he was named Hussein. He does not have to tell anyone why he was given the name Hussein. To tell everyone might bring unwanted attention to the name and might cause problems. To not tell might also bring unwanted attention to the name and cause fantastic stories to develop that could derail his candidacy. My advice, for what it is worth, is to come out and explain to the best of his ability why he was given the middle name Hussein. That would put the issue to rest and end speculation. Some of the worst stories have him as a closet Muslim. I believe Mr. Obama when he says he is a Christian.
Is Barack Obama’s middle name a big story? No, but it does cause some people to wag their tongues and cause some problems. In a campaign, it is better to put things like this to rest than letting them fester. My guess is that the Obama campaign will never tell us why his middle name is Hussein. If they did tell us why it is Hussein, it would bring unwanted attention. That is why I feel they will never open up and expose Barack Obama to that kind of exposure. It is a high risk, low reward kind of activity. If he is in trouble and they felt that this is the thing that is holding him back, then they might. But, that would not come until about October 2008. Until then they will sit on their hands and hope this story goes away. My feeling is that this story is just not going to go away. Those that like Mr. Obama will like him despite his middle name. Those that dislike Mr. Obama will dislike him despite his middle name. In the end, I do not feel it will have any great impact on the campaign. It is just causing some questions right now.