Has there ever been a more politically unfortunate middle name — historically speaking — than Barack Hussein Obama Jr.’s?
Probably not. And though stories of Obama’s ties to Islam are sordid, his Christian ties are another matter.
When a conservative Cincinnati talk show host recently limbered up a crowd at a John McCain rally, he repeatedly referred to Obama as “Barack Hussein Obama.” This prompted massive outrage and an apology from McCain.
If you haven’t noticed, Hussein is a Muslim name — as are Barack and Obama, by the way. What the electorate is supposed to garner from this nugget, I suppose, is that Obama is a closet Islamic imam.
Now, it should be pointed out that many of the individuals so shocked by the use of Obama’s given middle name are many of the same people who eagerly label George W. Bush a Nazi or other exaggerated pejoratives. Selective indignation, clearly, is not confined to either party’s faithful.
In fact, it was a Hillary Clinton aide who last week disseminated a picture of Obama, on a visit to Kenya, looking like he was dressed for the Haj. The Drudge Report, in turn, posted shots of House majority leader Nancy Pelosi, First Lady Laura Bush, and others, wearing kafia headdresses (why an American woman would don misogynistic headwear is a mystery), as is customary on official visits.
The use of “Hussein” and the Kenyan picture are no more than petty political ploys, likely to backfire. Obama has assured Americans, with the political adeptness of a social conservative, that he is “a devout Christian. I have been a member of the same church for 20 years. I pray to Jesus every night.”
Impressive, I suppose, depending on where you pray.
Obama, the guiding hand to American unanimity, has for the past 20 years been a parishioner at Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ, whose leader is, by any reasonable standard, a racist.
The pastor in question is Jeremiah Wright Jr. It was his use of the term “audacity of hope” in a sermon that inspired Obama to title his best-selling book with the phrase.
Wright is a longtime supporter of Nation of Islam’s Louis Farrakhan. Last year, the “Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. Trumpeter Award” was given to Farrakhan, who, it turns out, “truly epitomized greatness.”
Farrakhan, in addition to making frequent distasteful comments about race, is a person who referred to Judaism as a “gutter religion” and its adherents a bunch of “bloodsuckers.”
Wright even tagged along when Farrakhan visited Libya’s dictator Moammar Khadafy — a terrorist financier directly linked to the murder of Americans — for a chitchat in 1980s.
Obama has shown zero inclination to agree with any of Farrakhan or Wright’s odious statements. But as Obama’s largest recipient of charitable donations, Trinity United Church of Christ is more than a fleeting distraction in the candidate’s life. This is not guilt by association. Until a last minute change of heart, Obama’s campaign invocation was to be given by Wright.
After bumping Wright, an Obama aide explained: “Senator Obama is proud of his pastor and his church, but because of the type of attention it was receiving on blogs and conservative talk shows, he decided to avoid having statements and beliefs being used out of context and forcing the entire church to defend itself.”
If he is proud of his pastor, then asking Obama to clarify his connection to Wright is neither slander nor innuendo — nor is it the right-wing “noise machine” in action.
It is nearly inconceivable to imagine Clinton or McCain — or any presidential candidate — enjoying a close relationship with pastor who praises a racist leader for “his integrity and honesty” not coming under the scrutiny of the entire media.
No, Obama shouldn’t have to deal with unfair innuendo, but he deserves no dispensation when it comes to Wright.
Reach columnist David Harsanyi at 303-954-1255 or dharsanyi@denverpost.com.
