True or False: Obama will be required to say his middle name during the swearing in ceremony.

[Unsane]

John Roberts will prompt it by saying "I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear...".

Anyone else wondered how this public exchange will occur?


ON EDIT: and please don't get all bitchy and defensive. This question is not meant as a slight in anyway. I'm being a realist here, and I know some are wondering about whether he'll actually recite his full name.

[crispini]

1. I've seen this on here before. Someone did the research

and they said that some presidents have used their middle names, and some have not.

[TheCowsCameHome]

2. Whatever past practice calls for............

[xultar]

3. I posted on this about 10 mins ago. I hope he uses it. It is his name.

[glowing]

4. If I was Obama, I would.. why not? Its his name. Its nothing to be afraid of.

I cannot believe how many people can actually be afraid of a name...

[Phredicles]

5. Required or no, he should say it with pride;

it's a good name, and it's not his fault if some people unworthy of it have had it...

[glowing]

6. Research option.. see what he's used in the past... He's been sworn into

the IL senate and the US Senate.. What did he say before? More indicative of how he would prefer to be known and sworn in. I do hope he uses his whole name.. #1. to get over the boogeyman fear of a name, #2. to drive the freepers and rush limpballs insane.

[Mojambo]

7. I don't think he'd mind. He's never seemed particularly afraid or ashamed of his middle name. n/t

[TheCowsCameHome]

8. And why should he not be proud?

That's his name.

[Mojambo]

14. I agree. n/t

[democracy1st]

9. Nothing wrong with his middle name !

:shrug:

[TahitiNut]

10. He should definitely use his middle name - to distinguish him from all the other Barack Obamas.

:shrug:

[ZombieHorde]

16. Ha!

[kestrel91316]

11. Exactly WHY would saying his full legal name be a problem?

You wouldn't be implying that his FULL LEGAL NAME that he was BORN WITH is something to be ashamed of, would you?

[cyndensco]

12. I do not know if he will HAVE to use his middle name.

I so hope he does, though.

[Milspec]

13. I never use my middle name

because it's my Mothers maiden name. Security issues. He can do what he wants.

[Alexander]

15. He doesn't have to. Jimmy Carter didn't.

Carter insisted on saying "Jimmy" instead of "James Earl".

Who knows what Obama will do.

[Unsane]

18. interesting find, thanks

[kath]

34. whoa - did he actually get sworn in as "Jimmy" and not "James"?!

That just sounds too informal, and so.... hick.

[Whisp]

17. I hope he does, why not?

:shrug:

and if he doesn't, that will be a nonstory too.

[suston96]

19. His middle name? You mean "Hussein"? So what......

The late King Hussein was a great force for peace in the middle east and a good friend of the United States.

"Hussein" is a very common name over there - first, middle, or last.

[Aristus]

33. Salute to a great man!

My father was personally decorated by King Hussein after the Black September uprising in 1970. My dad was part of an international medical mission to assist Jordanian troops against the Palestinians.

[Grateful for Hope]

20. I think President-Elect Obama

has every right to be proud of his middle name. The unfortunate negative connotation to that name will be neutralized anyway when America sees how he will be as president.

I think PE Obama will become one of the most beloved presidents in American history.

[babylonsister]

21. Who cares? He should say it, will say it, and be proud of it. nt

[FloridaGrl]

22. I really hope he does nt

[CTyankee]

23. It's pretty much settled, isn't it? Anybody who doesn't like it won't be tuning in. n/t

[Jawja]

24. I can't wait to hear it.

I want to hear President-Elect Obama say, "I, Barack Hussein Obama." No reason why he shouldn't.

[Orangepeel]

25. I hope so. Now that he's elected he should use it all the time. It won't have any sting in 2012.

[Occam Bandage]

26. Precedent is mixed. Most do, but Reagan and Carter didn't. Ike and Ford used their initials.

Johnson didn't even say his name at all. If I had to bet, I'd bet that Obama omits "Hussein," but I wouldn't at all be surprised if it's in there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQhWtRW-KKA

[NYC Liberal]

27. The Constitution makes no mention of inserting a name into the oath

Doing so is simply tradition (and not even that, since many haven't).

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

[happyslug]

29. You forgot George Washington's addition which every President has continued.

Even some who are believed to have been atheists (President Franklin Pierce for one who was the most avowed about his lack of a belief in God). That is the phase "So help me God". It is NOT required by the Constitution but George Washington added it as have every President since (Including Lincoln whose law partner after the Civil War said Lincoln was an atheist but there is a quote from Lincoln that indicate that was true in the 1850s, but by 1864 was NO longer true, people do vary even on this belief throughout their lives). Given that George Washington added the phase, it is traditional to add it and every President including Piece and Lincoln has added it, Lincoln in both 1861 and 1865 when he took the oath of office.

My favorite version was Harry S Truman's, the person issuing the oath said "I, Harry Simpson Truman" and Truman said "I, Harry S Truman". The S is his middle name and thus should NEVER be followed by a period for it was NOT an abbreviation. Truman's parent's father both had names that began with the letter S so to avoid insulting one or the other, they just gave Truman S as his middle name.

One last comment, both George Washington and Abrahan Lincoln where known NOT to belong to any one religion. While true, that is not unusual for rural american in both periods NOT to go to church or attend regular church services. The classic situation was Andrew Jackson, when he ran for President in 1828 his wife asked him to join a Presbyterian church, Jackson said NO, not that he did not believe, but he told his wife, his enemies would only use it against him, attacking him for joining THAT Church (whatever church he joined) or for joining any church as just a political act on the part of Jackson to get votes. After Jackson had served his two terms (remember his wife DIED between his election in 1828 and his inauguration on March 4th, 1829) he joined a Presbyterian Church and stayed a member in good standing till he died. My point with Jackson was just because a person does NOT attend Church Services regularly does NOT make him ill-religious. That is true of Washington (Who did attend services, but did NOT join a church except when it was politically advantages for him to do so in his younger days) and Lincoln, who suffered from depression that would bring him to a very gloomy view of life.

Some comments on the Oath and who has taken it and what the additions to the oath meant to them. All the Constitution requires is what you said, and that is all the Constitution expects a person to do. Article II, Section 1 of the US Constitution:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#A2Sec1

[Frisbee]

28. Hopefully he'll use it, also using the Quran...

now THAT would make some heads explode! :rofl:

[Nevernose]

30. I sure hope so! I haven't STOPPED using his middle name yet!

I say "Barack Hussein Obama" like some people shake hands. 'Cause I'm petty that way, and I like to see some people cringe a little bit -- like a small piece of their soul just died -- when they have to process "President" and "Hussein" in the same sentence.

:evilgrin:

[BlooInBloo]

31. Why - is there something wrong with his middle name?

[Posteritatis]

35. 45.9% of the country seems to think so, alas.. (nt)

[BlooInBloo]

36. Completely irrelevant to the question I asked.

[AndrewP]

32. He should say it. It's a good name. Fuck the Republicant's who are offended by it.

[4lbs]

37. The neo-cons, Faux News, and Rush Limbaugh have painted the name Hussein as something

scary and insidious. If they had actually researched the history of the name, they would have found that the name "Hussein" in Arab and Muslim history is one of great importance and significance in a good way.

Unfortunately most low information Americans' only exposure to the name was with Saddam Hussein.

Nevertheless, it is a name to be proud of. I hope Barack Hussein Obama says it loudly and proudly. It honors his Kenyan grandfather.


http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/02/28/hussein/


Now let us take the name "Hussein." It is from the Semitic word hasan, meaning "good" or "handsome." Husayn is the diminutive, affectionate form.

Barack Obama's middle name is in honor of his grandfather, Hussein, a secular resident of Nairobi, Kenya. Americans may think of Saddam Hussein when they hear the name, but that is like thinking of Stalin when you hear the name Joseph. There have been lots of Husseins in history, from the grandson of the prophet Mohammed, a hero who touched the historian Gibbon, to King Hussein of Jordan, one of America's most steadfast allies in the 20th century. The author of the beloved American novel "The Kite Runner" is Khaled Hosseini.

But in Obama's case, it is just a reference to his grandfather.

[IsItJustMe]

38. I never hear him refer to himself by his middle name, unless he is joking about it. He won't use it

[cliffordu]

39. I want him to use it. The sound of freepers' heads exploding will require him to

stop the oath for a few minutes and the first public works project will more than likely be cleaning up the mess.


The mountains of broken teeth from all the gnashing will be worth the price of admission alone....