What’s in a Middle Name?

By Beth Leamy

It’s no secret things have been rather heated lately in the presidential election. And John McCain’s latest strategy of “Who is the real Barack Hussein Obama?” has seemed to ignite bigoted, angry passions in his supporters.

“Treason!” Terrorist!” “Kill him!” some yell during McCain’s speeches, in reference to Obama.

After approximately a week of hearing such outlandish and violent statements, and responding to them by revving up his crowd with accusations of continued correspondence between Obama and extremist Bill Ayers, and other similar smears, John Sidney McCain finally stepped up and said that we should all have some respect for his opponent.

Respect, huh?

Maybe Senator McCain just got some cold feet after realizing he opened up an issue that he just might not be able to control – That issue? Bigotry.

Several of McCain’s surrogates as well as McCain himself have been recently been quoted as calling Obama by his full name during speeches in an incrementing manner – “Barack Hussein Obama.”

Let’s face it. Hussein isn’t exactly a name greeted with peace, love, and hugs since Sept. 11 and the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. And it’s no secret that the name is Muslim. In American culture, Muslims recently have become synonymous with terrorists, creating anger and fear amongst many Americans. Thus, by highlighting Obama’s middle name, the McCain seems to be seeking this anger and fear and bring it out in his supporters.

McCain’s campaign goes even deeper though by connecting Obama to Bill Ayers, a man deemed to be a domestic terrorist. Whether these relations are true or not, people walk out with the idea that Obama is once again a terrorist. In the end McCain supporters are left with bigoted ideas, that because a man has a strange middle name, is black, or was on a public education panel with a man who founded a terrorist group which was last active in the 1970s, when Obama was 8, then he must be a terrorist and we must be afraid of him.

In response to these tactics, Representative John Lewis, who was an active figure in the Civil Rights Movement, came out and criticized McCain for his recent strategy by saying, “During another period, in the not too distant past, there was a governor of the state of Alabama named George Wallace who also became a presidential candidate. George Wallace never threw a bomb. He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights. Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama.”

Naturally McCain called this outrageous and couldn’t believe Lewis would say such a thing.

Really John Sidney McCain? You can’t believe it? When people are yelling such hateful words towards Obama during several of your rallies while you stand there and either say nothing or continue with your speech filled with smears, you can’t believe it?

Bigotry and racism are strong feelings. They harbor fear, hatred, anger, and, what’s even more dangerous, is that these attacks are not personal. It’s often just because a person has a different name or a different skin color or a different accent and obscene connections that these unfair assumptions are made.

You’re right, John Sidney McCain. Change is coming. Change is coming for every American, but what kind of change will that be? Will Americans revert to the past or will they overcome the hurdle put in front of them? Only the voters will decide come Nov. 4.