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The (Middle) Name Is Hussein

More Obama fans adopt his name, angry that foes use it as a 'cuss word'

By Caroline Zimmerman,  Newser User

Posted Jun 29, 2008 4:55 PM CDT

(Newser) – A growing group of Barack Obama fans are adopting his middle name, even as conservative pundits use it to label him a Muslim or terrorist, the New York Times reports. The trend of using "Hussein" has picked up speed since February and exists mostly online, in blogs and on Facebook. "I am sick of Republicans" using Obama's middle name like "some sort of cuss word," blogged Jeff "Hussein" Strabone.

Meanwhile, Obama's camp has distanced itself from Islam, canceling a pro-Obama appearance by a Muslim lawmaker last year and steering women with headscarves away from a campaign camera last month. But when a contributor wore "Hussein" on his nametag recently, Obama had no complaints: "The theory was, we're all Hussein," he said.

In this Feb. 5, 2008 file photo, a photograph of Barack Obama Sr., father of Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.,  hangs on the wall of his grandmother.
In this Feb. 5, 2008 file photo, a photograph of Barack Obama Sr., father of Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., hangs on the wall of his grandmother.   (Associated Press)
In this Aug. 26, 2006 file photo Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., right, claps hands with his grandmother, Sarah Hussein Obama, at his father's house in Nyongoma Kogelo village in western Kenya.
In this Aug. 26, 2006 file photo Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., right, claps hands with his grandmother, Sarah Hussein Obama, at his father's house in Nyongoma Kogelo village in western Kenya.   (Associated Press)
Supporters arrive at a fundraising event for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill.,  in Los Angeles Tuesday, June 24, 2008.
Supporters arrive at a fundraising event for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., in Los Angeles Tuesday, June 24, 2008.   (Associated Press)
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaks at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials in Washington Saturday, June 28, 2008.
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaks at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials in Washington Saturday, June 28, 2008.   (Associated Press)
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., talks with the media under the wing as he leaves the campaign charter plane at Dulles Airport in Chantilly, Va., Friday, June 27, 2008.
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., talks with the media under the wing as he leaves the campaign charter plane at Dulles Airport in Chantilly, Va., Friday, June 27, 2008.   (Associated Press)
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., applaud together at a campaign event in Unity, N.H. Friday, June 27, 2008.
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., applaud together at a campaign event in Unity, N.H. Friday, June 27, 2008.   (Associated Press)
Sarah Hussein Obama, grandmother of U.S. Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama,holds a photograph of her and her grandson in this file photo taken in Kenya.
Sarah Hussein Obama, grandmother of U.S. Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama,holds a photograph of her and her grandson in this file photo taken in Kenya.   (Associated Press)
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