Sunday, November 30, 2008

Will Obama Use His Middle Name in Swearing In?

Chris Matthews wonders: will Obama use his whole name when swearing in as president? I hope he does but I'm not sure he will. He didn't use it during the campaign.

Some of the past presidents didn't, including Ronald Reagan, the right wing idol, and Jimmy Carter.

This is up for full debate at democratic underground.

When you think about it, it's kind of silly that there has to be a question. It's all thanks to the extremists on the right, who have demonized his middle name, which for them, reminds them that Obama is a secret Muslim terrorist. These people are still filing lawsuits, demanding that Obama present his long form birth certificate, the so-called "certificate of live birth."

I actually talked to one of these folks who filed a lawsuit because I wanted to have a better understanding of their line of thinking. The man I talked to is a pastor. He pointed me to a site, which he says proves Obama is a Muslim.

He truly believes Obama was born in Kenya.

Why do these people believe this? Because it fits their world view, which is that a black man cannot be president of the U.S. That's what it comes down to, though they themselves could never recognize that.

Because of their deep-rooted prejudice, they've invested in the belief that Obama is a secret Muslim terrorist who's going to try and turn the U.S. into a Muslim nation. Their original skepticism has turned into denial, which has turned into mass delusion, which is unhealthy. These people go beyond partisan politics. 

Factcheck has held Obama's birth certificate and photographed it. They say the post on Obama's birth certificate is their most visited. Hawaii put out a release verifying Obama's original birth certificate. But the deniers say that Factcheck and others are conspiring with Obama. More delusion.

If you read their posts, you'll find that they're prone to conspiracy theories and wierdness. One of the headlines today from the radical right: "Stress takes toll on Obama, develops chronic facial tic; Michelle said to be distraught over spasms under right eye." There you have it.

I talked to the folks at Factcheck as well. They said there isn't any proof that they could offer that would ever be good enough. The wingnuts would always believe that something was forged, no matter what evidence was presented. Their belief in the face of evidence -- denial -- is similar to the Holocaust deniers.

Factcheck is right. These people believe they are right and they can't figure out why no one is taking them seriously. I just hope the secret service is keeping their eye on these folks because their words are venomous. The more they're marginalized, the more they'll feel threatened and inclined to take action.