Rove: Don't "Hussein" Obama

The Atlantic ^ | 2/27/08 | Marc Ambinder

[pissant]

No less an authority figure than Karl Rove has warned Republican operatives from demagoguing Barack Obama's middle name.

At a closed door meeting of GOP state executive directors in late January, Rove said the safest way to refer to Obama would be to use his honorific, "Sen. Obama."

"The context was, you're not going to stimatize this guy. You shouldn't underestimate him," one of the executive directors said. Rove said that the use of "Barack Hussein Obama" would perpetuate the notion that Republicans were bigoted and would hurt the party.

Rove also said that Republicans should refer to Hillary Clinton as "Sen. Clinton," rather than "Hillary."

Right wing figures are set to ignore Rove's advice. Rush Limbaugh used Obama's middle name more than a year ago, and Ann Coulter regularly uses the middle name, once calling him "President Hussein." So does Michael Savage, who once asked whether Obama was a "so-called friendly Muslim" or one more "radical."

[kabar]

Exactly. They were not associated with the Rep party. In fact, a number of them including John O'Neill were registered Dems. The SBVFT were a true 527, i.e., non-partisan. I contributed multiple times and attended one of their rallies. As a former naval officer and Vietnam veteran, I identified with them and their efforts. Their political ads were some of the most powerful ever made. They changed the course of events.

Kerry was caught like a deer in the headlights for almost a month. He kept on sending his surrogates out to try to refute the charges, but they really couldn't despite the help the MSM was giving Kerry. The MSM is still engaged in revisionist history by giving a pejorative meaning to the term "swiftboating." In fact it should mean exposing lies and revealing the truth by courageous citizens, some of whom are still fighting law suits launched by Kerry. This nation owes them a great debt.

[copaliscrossing]

McCain does not have to make an issue of Barack HUSSEINS name, just operatives

I agree totally. It would be a nice setup if you could get Reagan Democrats, Independents, or another proxy to keep subtly bringing HUSSEIN to the forefront.

Just yesterday I had a co-worker storm into my office and asked (like he just found out some deep dark secret) if I knew that Obamas middle name was **whisper** Hussein!!!! I was laughing and a little concerned that there are a lot of people out there that have no idea what his middle name is.

[kabar]

Karl Rove is trying to say that we have more to offer, but why should anyone listen to him? What's he ever done?

Lost control of Congress and divided the Rep party by pushing amnesty for starters. At least we didn't let him get Harriet Miers on SCOTUS.

[mountainbunny]

Seriously, this is like a half of a step above calling him "poopy-pants".

At least "poopy-pants" is funny, if scatological humor is your thing.

It is driven by pure emotion, as there is no real point being made. Bill Cunningham himself has proven that he makes his political decisions based on emotion. His feelings got hurt, so now he won't support McCain.

We need to get it through our skulls that what is good for a talk radio host/columnist/media personality is not necessarily good for conservatives. Bill Cunningham got himself splashed all over the news for this. But who can describe what (if anything) John McCain talked about after he handled this yesterday? I read the news and I can't do it. All of the discussion is about this. None of it is about what McCain said or was going to say until this came up.

He can talk about principles all he wants, but the fact remains that a few days ago he was eager to boost McCain's campaign. McCain has been the same lousy bastard for quite some time now. The ONLY thing that has changed is that Bill got insulted, so he should stop acting as though he is principled.

We should all be so lucky as to be insulted in this way. Where can I sign up? There are 592 versions of this story on Google News right now. How many do you think there were for Bill Cunningham before this?

[mountainbunny]

First off, Rodham is not Hilary's middle name. I don't even know what it is.

I had to look it up. It's Diane.

McCain's full name in John Sidney McCain III.

Sounds like an okay name to me.

Speaking of Reagan, if his middle name would have been Mohamed, he will still would have been the best President in my lifetime.

True. And becoming more and more true with every subsequent election.

[pissant]

Rodham is the on again off again maiden name she has used when it suits her. When it did not suit her and she decided to go by just Hillary Clinton (like now) we still use her ‘middle’ name. It shows a clinging to radical feminism, just as Hussein shows a muslim birthright. Hell, Mark Levin, no slouch of a conservative, calls her Hillary ROTTEN Clinton.

The point was that many people have been addressed using their middle names. Yet political correctness has made you feel that it is inappropriate in this case. PCism is poison, and any conservative should know that instinctively. You do not play by the leftists’ rules. Where they get to call George Allen George Felix Allen and George Bush a liar yet we are worried about offending someone. Take up crocheting if politics is too mean.

[mass55th]

"Well, Barrack Hussein Sinclair Obama just needs to be treated with respect, like all communists should be."

Hmm. Did he forsake his middle name when he took his oath as a new Senator? And will he forsake it in the oath of office if elected President? How about when he signs Bills into law? Does he really want his initials to be B.O?

[mjolnir]

Actually, listening to a soundbite of Cunningham’s remarks, it sounds like all Cunningham did was use Obama’s full name, and not in the context of some smarmy “Obama the crypto-Muslim” putdown but rather simply in using his full name for exclamation....leaving me all the more disappointed in Senator McCain’s ingratitude and gracelessness.

[prairiebreeze]

I’m not sure I trust Rove to know his head from a hole in the ground anymore.

Republicans ought to be able to get Obama-mama on his lack of experience, his voting record and being far left. Whether they will capitalize on that though, is the question.

[Question_Assumptions]

One issue that someone should raise is how will some of the extremists in the Muslim world react toward a President Obama who had a Muslim father and Hussein as a middle name yet insists he's not Muslim but is Christian? Will they view him as a apostate, someone who should be Muslim?

[Condor51]

"The context was, you're not going to stimatize this guy. You shouldn't underestimate him," one of the executive directors said. Rove said that the use of "Barack Hussein Obama" would perpetuate the notion that Republicans were bigoted and would hurt the party.

Yo Karl - STFU or go pander to more illegals you dimwit.

That's right - "Dimwit". I have never bought into this 'Genius' bull-hockey, quite the contrary, to wit:

• HE was the sole reason 2000 was FUBAR. HE almost cost Dubya the election by hiding Dubya from the media with about three weeks to the election when Bush had a 5 point lead. Then the attacks started and Bush was nowhere to be found to respond, all thanks to ROVE.

  The NRA and Chuck Heston won 2000 for Bush, not 'genius' Karl Rove.

• Then we have 2004. No way that moron Kerry should have even been within single digits. But Rove decides to pander to ILLEGALS for the "Hipanic Vote" and Dubya's numbers drop. Then Dubya calls the Minutemen "Vigilantes" , I'm sure on Rove's advice and his numbers drop some more. Then the Swifties start digging into Kerry and again, Bush insults them - on Rove's advice I'm sure.

  The Swiftboat Vets won 2004 for Bush, not ROVE.

• Then we have 2006 when 'genius' Rove is on his own with his 'genius' advice to the RNC as to who to back with funds and we lose both houses of Congress.

Karl Rove is the political version of the Pet Rock, there's no there there. And he's a 'genius' like a Camel is a Horse, the Dimwit just got lucky in two elections.

[fanfan]

Until yesterday I was pretty confident that McCain stood a good chance of winning. But if he’s going to go out of his way to attack conservatives that say what he obviously cannot say . . . he’s off track.

WE need to point out the obvious . . . B. Hussein is not someone that we should be comfortable with as President. His wife is not proud of the country, his church give awards to Louis Farakhan, his mother married two muslims and had her child raised in Islam, and B. Hussein gravitated to the hard left in his career with employment at Alinsky organizations.

I can not believe this is happening, right before our eyes.

You all need to assert your first amendment rights, now, while you still have them.

[Greg F]

Barack called himself Barry in his High School Yearbook.

[Lurking Libertarian]

Conservative = Demagogue? That’s what that Democrats say.

And a whole lot of Freepers are trying to make them look like they're right to say that.

[kenmcg]

Obama had his name before Saddam Hussein came to power. We can beat him easily by just showing what an out and out marxist/socialist/liberal that he is.

[pissant]

Get a grip on yourself. The Moveon.org folks, the KOSkids, the DUmmies are all feted and revered by the Obamas and Clintons and the DNC and by extension, the MSM.

So you worry about what they think of FR? ROFL

[E. Cartman]

He[Bush] is leaving with a Dem controlled Congress and a GOP in disarray thanks to appointing folks like Martinez as RNC chairman and trying to push amnesty down our throats. Karl Rove has been a disaster for the GOP and conservatives in particular.

Bush will do to the GOP in 2008 what Carter did to the dems in 1980.

[E. Cartman]

McCain's full name in John Sidney McCain III.

"Sounds like an okay name to me."

Only if you're only other option is "Little Lord Fauntleroy". The "Sidney" and the "III" make him sound like a poofter in silk knee britches.

[E. Cartman]

McCain's full name in John Sidney McCain III.

"Sounds like an okay name to me."

Only if you're only other option is "Little Lord Fauntleroy". The "Sidney" and the "III" make him sound like a poofter in silk knee britches.

[Swordfished]

Obama should start putting emphasis on the Cain part of McCAIN to grab some evangelical votes.