Middle Names

John Quincy Adams. John F. Kennedy. Harry S. Truman. George W. Bush. Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Lyndon B. Johnson. William Henry Harrison. James Knox Polk. Ulysses Simpson Grant. Rutherford B. Hayes. William Howard Taft. Warren Gamaliel Harding. All these Presidents have gone by their middle name or initial. None felt discriminated against because people used their middle name or initial. Only John Quincy Adams and George W. Bush required a middle name or initial in order to differentiate themselves from their fathers, who were Presidents. Franklin Roosevelt did not need to use his middle name because his first name was different than the past President Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt. There was no other Truman, Harrison, Polk, et cetera . So what’s the problem with Barack Hussein Obama? Why is it that people are told to not use his middle name? Why was Bill Cunningham, who had said Barack Hussein Obama in his radio show for months, chastised for saying it at a McCain rally? After saying that for months, did the person who hired him not realize this is what Mr. Cunningham did? Who cares anyway? What is wrong with using a candidate’s middle name, or hyphenated name? Hillary Rodham-Clinton? Why drop the Rodham all of a sudden? There’s obviously no shame in using a middle name or initial as many of our Presidents have. She ran for Senate with the name Hillary Rodham-Clinton, so why change it half-way through the presidential bid? Why is it so gosh darn offensive for people to use Barack Hussein Obama’s middle name and Hillary Rodham-Clinton’s hyphenated name? I do not see the problem with Barack Hussein Obama or Hillary Rodham-Clinton. People should not make such a big deal about it. Many of our Presidents have had their middle names or initials used in causal speaking of them, so what’s wrong with it now?

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ediblewoman's picture
Volunteer for the Progressive U Alumni Association

I agree that Obama's middle name should not matter, but the only reason republicans bandy it about is because they want to maintain the suspicion that he is somehow related to terrorists. In that case, using his middle name is not respectful, it's a cheap shot.

As far as Hillary's hyphen, I think that was an effort to make her seem more traditional. Many people are suspicious of a woman who won't take her husband's name outright. This is just a suspicion on my part, though. I don't know the actual reason she dropped the Rodham.

http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman

Obama no longer needs the help of the GOP or anyone else to connect him to terrorists. His close friend Tony Rezko, terrorist and bomber of the Pentagon, has got that covered for him.

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