Is Obama’s name fair game?

Republican leaders, including John McCain, warned supporters not to invoke Barack Obama's middle name, Hussein, to prejudice voters against him, said Jonathan Chait in a New Republic blog, and McCain deserves credit for defining it as "out-of-bounds.

What happened

The Republican National Committee privately rebuked the Tennessee Republican Party for sending out a press release criticizing Democratic presidential contender “Sen. Barack Hussein Obama” for allegedly not supporting Israel. An RNC source said the national party was putting the Tennessee GOP on notice not to use Obama’s Muslim-sounding middle name again. (Politico) On Monday, Republican front-runner John McCain criticized radio host Bill Cunningham’s use of Obama’s middle name in the warm-up to a McCain rally. “John McCain threw me under the bus, under the Straight Talk Express,” Cunningham said. “I’m joining Ann Coulter in supporting Hillary Rodham Clinton.” (USA Today)

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