‘I, Barack Hussein Obama, Do Solemnly Swear…’

i think if he is “embarrased” by his middle name, he should legally drop it. if he dosent do that, then i believe there is no harm in saying it. but i believe he will not have it said when it comes time to be sworn in because he has no backbone.

It should be what he wants it to be.
Remember, Carter was sworn in as “Jimmy Carter”, not “James Earle Carter”, so dropping the full legal name at the swearing in is not without precedent.

The New York Times had the most powerful election-night lede. It was simply, “Barack Hussein Obama has been elected the 44th president of the United States.” Most other papers dropped the middle name, but the Times got it right. We all know by now his middle name is Hussein. We elected him anyway.
We didn’t mind, neither should he.

Be proud of his name and say it loud and clear. A christian name does not a christian make, and many in the Far East takes on a “western” name but that does not make them caucasians either. So what’s wrong with any name that people have. I have known plenty of people with good “christian” names, but they are some of the worst people you can ever know. Many others with ethnic or Islamic names are some of the best people you can ever meet. It’s just a name folks, it’s what’s inside you that matters, not the feathers you adorn yourself with.

It’s not the name of a dictator in the Middle-East, it’s not the connection to the Islamic radicals.
It’s a name that embodies his multi-cultural heritage, and is his father’s name- a name shared by many Muslims and people of Arab-descent around the world, not something to be demonized.
To those people who like to post Barack HUSSEIN Obama (emphasis on capitals) while describing his failings, and then playing all innocent and going, “Huh? We can’t use his middle-name?” when it’s pathetically obvious the fear-mongering they’re pushing, GROW UP:
Barack Hussein Obama is the 44th President of the United States of America.

Grey Matter, I did indeed end up voting for Barack Obama, as a protest vote against the remaining vestiges of racism in our society. And since, I have been delightfully pleased about the direction Obama appears to be headed, and have admitted that my concerns have not been realized to date, although I reserve the right be critical as I see fit. My opinion on this story is that it is a non-story, and we need to get on with the business of governing, and move far beyond the culture wars. There’s serious business to be done.

WestCoastMessenger,
I’m glad you kept an open mind.
On these boards and other blogs there are lots of people spewing rubbish and they like to capitalize the “Hussein” and ask whether Obama was born in Kenya and his birth cert is fake, blah, blah (Actually, why would a heavily pregnant young woman travel to Kenya- if there were flights there to begin with in the 1960s- there was quite a bit of unrest). I’m tired of this. Those morons trying to take the birth cert thing to the Supreme Court apparently haven’t gotten the memo that the next President has a huge mess to fix.
I agree with you, we need to stop the culture wars now. Some of the detractors should give Obama a chance to be sworn in and prove himself before going on a melancholic tirade about how he is going to run the country into the ground when he hasn’t even been inaugurated yet.

jpt,
He should make sure they use his full legal name. Barrack Hussein Obama
and that is just what i think he will do.
he is chicken if he does anything else.

Hmm, I do agree.
I say, say the Hussein LOUD AND CLEAR.
Let those Al-Qaeda terrorists be in a muddle after their potential recruits hear the President of the country that is their sworn enemy has a name of Muslim and Arab origins- and maybe isn’t all that different from them, after all.

i hope everyone can appreciate the fact that this is being floated by the media to the public, to see just how people feel about him using his three names. at least this is what i think.

Two things to keep in mind…
First off, let’s all note for the record that both Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan were sworn in without their middle names, so it’s neither unprecedented nor even unusual.
Secondly, it is as frustrating as it is sad that the name Hussein has taken on such a negative connotation, when it is equally deserving of a positive one – as in the belated King Hussein of Jordan, who was a courageous man of peace. (The media has very been remiss in this regard.)
That said, while it’s President-elect Obama’s prerogative to do whatever he wants, and either use his middle name or not (a decision he shouldn’t be faulted for either way), it would certainly send a powerfully resonant message to the world if he would use his full name.
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

First of all America is not a state religion country like Saudi Arabia where everyone is considre Muslims. It makes no sense if someone middle names is either Hussein, Abubacar or even Mohammed. Moreover, there a lot of people in the world today with muslim names but they are CHRISTAINS. I think, we as Americans should not judge people by their names. Thanks.

The name Hussein is common among muslims. There have been many great men and many bad men that have shared this name. It should not be viewed as dishonorable because of one man. Hussein is Obama’s name. He should wear it with pride.

It’s a name given to him, that doesn’t make him a terrorist, etc.
Don’t underestimate Obama – I think he is a very strong man and will be doing the best, he is picking some very smart and experienced people for his cabinet.
A name means nothing, it is the person who counts. It’s like people squawking because he is African-American (also half white), it is the person who counts. See the person – not the color or the name.

It is entirely up to him, but I think he should use his full name when sworn in as the new President of the United States. His name should not be a cause for concern or equated with terrorism. Even if he was a Muslim, what would be wrong with that? Islam is not evil or bad, terrorism is and people of all religions have been involved in terrorism. Catholics and Protestants in Ireland have indiscriminately bombed and killed people also in pursuit of their political goals but no one would say that someone named Murphy or Sean or O’Connor is a terrorist just because they have an Irish name. It is no different with Mr. Obama. A name is just a name and those who would attach any evil intent to someone just because of their name is ignorant. President-elect Obama should use his whole name proudly.

I did not vote for Barack Obama- in fact, I ardently opposed his election but it had nothing to do with his race , his religion, or his name; I was doubtful that his stated policies would help to fix the ills of our great nation. I have never attacked him on a personal level, nor shall I.
Having said that, he has the right to be sworn in to office by whatever combination of his legal name that he chooses and as the 44th President of this nation, he deserves- and commands- the respect of ALL Americans, as well as all freedom-loving people of the world.
I may not have voted for him, but he will have my prayers and support every day that he is in office- no matter what name he goes by!

“and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States”
They all take that oath. All of them. Think about it.

I hate to tell Obama that the secret is out. We all know your middle name is Hussein. We won’t forget what it is. That should have nothing to do with whether you use it or not. If you like hyping the talk about racism in general then don’t use it, but don’t think that Americans will forget that it is your name just because you don’t use it. That is stupidity at it’s worst.

“Hussein” isn’t a Muslim name but it is actually Arabic. Muslim is a religion but Arabic is a location.
Jake, you need to be EDUCATED.

Reagan didn’t say his full name when he was sworn at president. Also Jimmy Carter didn’t either.
I think Obama will just say “Barack Obama” just as Reagan said “Ronald Reagan” and Carter said “Jimmy Carter”.

What difference does it make if he says his full name or not?

The election is over. He will solemnly swear using his full given name:
Barack Hussein Obama.
It will be a beautiful moment, fulfilling much of the American promise of equal opportunity for all.

I think he should use the name he was born with, and that can be found on his birth certificate…..

Conserve
re: ‘but don’t think that Americans will forget that it is your name just because you don’t use it.’
duck & cover…, the ‘real Americans’ are back….. from ‘real America’…………
Back to reality Dept about the “Failure regime” currently in office… if you want something to complain about how about this:
‘The Bush administration backed off proposed crackdowns on no-money-down, interest-only mortgages years before the economy collapsed, buckling to pressure from some of the same banks that have now failed. It ignored remarkably prescient warnings that foretold the financial meltdown, according to an Associated Press review of regulatory documents.
Bowing to aggressive lobbying _ along with assurances from banks that the troubled mortgages were OK _ regulators delayed action for nearly one year. By the time new rules were released late in 2006, the toughest of the proposed provisions were gone and the meltdown was under way.
The administration’s blind eye to the impending crisis is emblematic of its governing philosophy, which trusted market forces and discounted the value of government intervention in the economy. Its belief ironically has ushered in the most massive government intervention since the 1930s.
Many of the banks that fought to undermine the proposals by some regulators are now either out of business or accepting billions in federal aid to recover from a mortgage crisis they insisted would never come. ‘

I doubt he wants to get people talking about his middle name as his first act as President.
I think he should continue to use the formulation he’s been using.

Blue,
Thank you for pointing out that the failure of the mortgage industry was 30 years in coming, starting with the Carter-era CRA (Community Reinvestment Act), being exacerbated by the Clinton-era executive policies which expanded the impact of the CRA and forced banks into more undesireable loans, and finally culminating in the failure of the Bush administration in enacting more regulatory oversight (uncharacteristic of Republicans) due to the ability of the Democrats to block any such action in the Senate (uncharacteristic of Democrats – wanting less regulation, that is, not blocking legislation), with the Senate’s unique “filibuster” rule which requires a 60% supermajority to break.
So yes, there were some bad policies involved here, but they started out on the Democrat side, and they were perpetuated by the Democrats, and the Republicans did not put up a loud enough complaint against what was happening.
But with the state of the MSM (heavily pro-Democrat, anti-Republican), would those complaints even have reached the public?

Will the Liberal Press denounce Chief Justice John Roberts as an evil Republican racist when he administers the oath in January and uses Hussein’s full name?

Without question, he should say his full name. I was disappointed that it was left to Colin Powell to be the only one to stand up for Muslims during the campaign. The name Hussein, is just that, a name. It would send a positive message to Americans and the world if Obama proudly embraces his full name – it’s not something to be ashamed of and he’s in the prime position to make this clear.

I hope Obama does use his middle name during the ceremony. By doing so he will take a name associated with evil and turn it into a positive association. He will also send a powerful message about American acceptance of people from all walks of life out to the rest of the world.
BTW I didn’t vote for him but that was on the issues. As an individual and a representative of America I think he’s great.

and while we’re at it:
re: “Looking back on his eight years in the White House, President George W. Bush pinpointed incorrect intelligence that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction as “biggest regret of all the presidency.”
what a delusional fraud, they had decided to take out Iraq before 9•11

Most important: he should use what he wishes to use. He’s certainly earned that right. ———— However, if *my* wishes were worth being consulted, I would encourage him to use his full name. It is his name, and his father’s name, one of the few things he has from his father. — It would, quite nicely, be a classy slap-back at all the radio personalities, etc., who snarled and spit that middle name at him as if it was something of which to be ashamed — It would reinforce Gen. Powell’s welcome statement that ‘it doesn’t matter’ in this country is one is Muslim or has a Muslim-sounding name, that it’s the content of the person’s character that matters, to quote another great leader — And, most important, a video clip of the new US President identifying himself by a name associated with a different region and different religion, while he is being sworn into office, would do more than anything I can imagine to tell people what America is all about *and* to shake the conviction of millions of people, some of them illiterate, many of them the people Jihadists will want to recruit, that all of the Western world hates them and anything to do with them. — Also, Hussein is an honorable and respectable name in the Arabic world (e.g., King Hussein of Jordan). There is no reason to hide or shy away from it (how would we feel if a multi-racial leader of a Middle East country tried to hide from a middle name like George? or William?). There is every reason, I think, for him to embrace it, and for us to embrace it, as a very legitimate part of the person who we are proud to call our President.

It is the legal name of the person we elected. And there is no reason to hide it at this point.
But didn’t Carter go by Jimmy and not James Earl? There is a degree of personal preference to which we should defer.

He will never have to worry about what name to use. The electoral college will not be voting for him as he is ineligible to be president. Second runner up after he is sticken from vote, John McCain. The question is what is his McCain’s middle name and will he use it? THis question about Obama is irrelevent.