Crazies Link Obama to Terrorism

donna | 12/17/2006 1:50 pm | Daily Briefing

Senator Barack Obama has an unusual problem for a potential presidential candidate. His first name rhymes with
Iraq, his middle name is Hussein, and his last name rhymes with "Osama". Of course, when his parents named him 45 years ago, they would have no way of knowing that we'd be at war in Iraq, that Saddam Hussein would be the dictator we overthrew, or that Osama bin Laden would have led an attack against the United States, let alone that their new baby boy might someday make a run for the presidency.

Almost two years ago Senator Ted Kennedy accidentally called Senator Barack Obama "Osama bin ... Osama ... Obama.". That led to repeated jokes by Sean Hannity, mainly at the expense of Kennedy. Rush Limbaugh then took up the reference and continually calls Senator Obama "Obama Osama" or "Osama Obama", subtly linking him to the terrorist leader.

Next up was GOP strategist Ed Rogers who appeared on Hardball and said "Count me down as somebody that underestimates Barack Hussein Obama." Now we have conservatives having a wonderful time continually emphasizing Obama's middle name. Then, last week Jeff Greenwald appeared on CNN's Situation Room commenting that Obama tends to dress like another world leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He later said this was a joke, which is the same explanation we are hearing about the Osama/Obama and Hussein references.

I like to believe I have as much of a sense of humor as the next person, and a I have to admit that a name like Barack Hussein Obama, and its reminders of what's going on in the world today is a pretty funny coincidence. I can understand why people would want to make jokes. But, is it really a joke, or is there something else going on?

At the same time as we are seeing repeated subtle linking of Obama to enemies of the
United States, conservative bloggers are circulating a story that Obama himself is actually a radical Muslim intent on taking over the
United States for Islam after being elected president. Obama's father was originally a Muslim, but died an atheist. His mother grew up in a fundamentalist Christian home, but believed in exposing her son to a variety of religions. After Obama's father died, she remarried a Muslim and moved to
Jakarta, Indonesia, where the family lived for four years. From the ages of six through ten, Obama spent two years in a Muslim school and two years in
Catholic School. His mother also took him to visit religious services for a wide variety of religions. He is now a devout Christian and a member of the United Church of Christ. The questions being raised by conservative bloggers are "what if the Muslim School he attended was a Madrassa?" and "what if this is all some sort of a plot for him to appear to give up his Muslim faith, then grow up to be President of the United States and go back to being Muslim?"

While most people are smart enough to believe this is total hogwash, there are a number of Americans that actually believe this drivel. The constant linking of Obama to terrorists, combined with the stories flying around the internet, is similar to the "whisper campaigns" against John McCain in the South Carolina primary and Governor Ann Richards of Texas. In both cases, ridiculous stories like this were circulated before an election and both lost.

Here are some of the examples of what we're seeing on the internet about Obama:

From Free Republic: "What little we DO know about somebody who sounds like he should be heading up a terrorist sleeper cell, tends to stir more doubt than it settles. Barack (Iraq) (Saddam) Hussein Obama (Osama), and JUNIOR yet, is truly somewhere between being an "Oreo", black on the outside, white on the inside, and a Trojan Horse, a method of stealth to plant infiltrators from the worldwide Islamic caliphate high in the US power structure."

Then we have this from Judith MacLeod, who is a contributor to Fox News, Drudge Report, CNN's Glen Beck, and NewsMax: "What if Obama is engaged in pious fraud? This is a Muslim practice of pretending not to be Muslim to further the cause of Islam or to 'defend the faith'. He becomes President and then says, 'Gee...I think I want to be Muslim again' after he finds the 'football' in his hands that carries the launch codes for the
USA nuke forces."

Is it any wonder why many are fearing for Obama's safety?

Barack Obama is no more a terrorist than you or I. This is wing-nut conspiracy theory and character assassination at its worst. Its purpose is to knock a very popular Democrat out of the race for the Presidency. It was wrong when John McCain was rumored to have fathered a black child and fed information to the enemy while being tortured, when Ann Richards was rumored to be a lesbian, and it's wrong when Obama is being called a terrorist. Don't fall for it and don't contribute to it with the "Obama/Osama"/Hussein jokes. It's not funny any more.

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