Hussein, We Have a Problem

Ummm, did no one see this coming? Where we the Democratic handlers when little Barack was born. They could have immediately seen the problem that his father's name would cause and kept his future Presidential hopes alive by opting for a less controversial nom de plume, maybe William Jefferson Obama.

I'm sorry, are you completely lost? Maybe you have no idea what I'm talking about. I'll catch you up. The Democrats, fresh off their big win in the midterm election and basking in the ever lower poll numbers for the sitting Republican President (George Walker Bush, now THAT'S a name) are looking forward to finally taking the big prize home in 2008. It would seem that their best hope lies in Hillary Rodham Clinton. The wife of one of the most beloved (and hated) former Presidents, with a huge fund raising machine, and one of the top four most recognized faces and names in all of world politics, should have a clear shot to the Democratic nomination. There are those that doubt Mrs. Clinton's (I bet she loves being called that) chances in the general election, especially against a strong moderate like John McCain. Enter the would-be savior of the Democratic party, Barack Hussein Obama. That's right, his middle name is Hussein.

Never mind that a black man has never been elected President, never mind that the last Senator to be elected President straight from the Senate was JFK (all three of the front-runners share that historical complication), never mind that candidates with "Muslim" sounding names are having difficulty getting elected in even the most open-minded places, let's just discuss the fact that Barack shares a name with the recently deposed dictator of Iraq. You think anybody will have a problem with that?

So what does this mean for Barack's Presidential hopes? What about the Democratic party? Does the very future of the free world hang upon this quirk of culture and heritage? Probably not. But it sure does make great fodder for the Conservative talk shows. It also has to put a smile on Hillary's face. Her possible opponent (the only one with a considerable chance of success) in the upcoming Democratic primaries has one of the only names that is more reviled by Conservatives than her own. Surely the Democrats, who have a hard time painting themselves as tough on terrorism anyway, can't afford to nominate a man that shares Saddam's name (and let's not forget what rhymes with Obama).

"What's in a name...a rose by any other name would smell as sweet" the Bard makes a good point, but I still find it hard to imagine Hussein '08 t-shirts being very popular items.