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Name Calling
By
[Jon Henke]
Talk radio host Bill Cunningham called him "Barack Hussein Obama" in February - earning a swift, justified denunciation from McCain - while Debbie Schlussel goes there routinely, using the full "Barack Hussein Obama" name in pretty much everything she writes about Obama. Bloggers, pundits and others join in routinely. The whole thing is shameless, undignified and a transparent attempt to exploit ethnic or religious prejudices.
Let's clear this up: other than the requirements of direct quotes, there are only two reasons for a person to use Barack Obama's full name...
Really, that's it. And if you use...
Talk radio host Bill Cunningham called him "Barack Hussein Obama" in February - earning a swift, justified denunciation from McCain - while Debbie Schlussel goes there routinely, using the full "Barack Hussein Obama" name in pretty much everything she writes about Obama. Bloggers, pundits and others join in routinely. The whole thing is shameless, undignified and a transparent attempt to exploit ethnic or religious prejudices.
Let's clear this up: other than the requirements of direct quotes, there are only two reasons for a person to use Barack Obama's full name...
- You are producing a legal record, which requires use of the full legal name.
- You are an asshole.
Really, that's it. And if you use...
- ...Mitt Romney's first name, "Willard"....you're not being clever, you're not "just using his real name." You are being an asshole.
- ...Fred Thompson's birth name, Freddie....you're not being clever, you're not "just using his real name." You are being an asshole.
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