Obama/Osama
Barack Hussein Obama, Democratic Senator for Illinois and unofficial presidential contender for 2008, has a name that really is the political equivalent of being called Ginger Pubes. It seems that nobody can get his name right without indulging in some puerile innuendo - but it's surely just an innocent mistake?
Ted Kennedy, Democratic Senator for Massachussetts, was obviously still a bit flustered from being on the government's secret "no-fly" list in 2004 when he fluffed Obama's name. Speaking at the National Press Club on the future of the Democratic Party back in January 2005, he said: "Why don't we just ask Osama bin -- Osama Obama -- Obama what -- since he won by such a big amount. Seriously, Senator Obama is really unique and special."
But one man's error is another man's excuse, and right-wing pundit Rush Limbaugh took up the "Osama Obama" refrain throughout 2005, claiming that he was merely mocking Senator Kennedy. On the July 11, 2005 edition of his show, Limbaugh poked fun at Obama using his new 'accidental' moniker:
"Obama Osama Obama was in Florida over the weekend stumping for [Sen.] Bill Nelson [D-FL], and he said Democrats have got trouble. [...] So here's Osama Obama now. One speech at a convention and he's living off it. He's a rookie. He's a rookie senator. [...] Now, if you're wondering why I'm calling him "Obama Osama," Ted Kennedy was at the National Press Club and made a speech and in the question-and-answer session, he got a question about Obama and actually called him, "Osama Obama," what did he call him? "Obama bin Laden" or something. He did correct himself, but it caused us -- we had no choice, folks, we had to do a parody tune out of this.
The parody tune, apparently, is set to the melody of 'La Bamba'.
And now we come to the latest of these blunders - CNN's plastering of the phrase "Where's Obama?" underneath footage of a feature on bin Laden, which was shown during Wolf Blitzer's "The Situation Room." CNN has since apologised, and Obama's press spokesman Tommy Vietor offered a wry acceptance: "Though I'd note that the 's' and 'b' keys aren't all that close to each other, I assume it was just an innocent mistake."
Maybe so, but according to The Age, such errors had been reported on by CNN beforehand: "the graphics department did have prior warning about the potential for confusion from their own station, with CNN running a news story in December on the trouble Obama's name can cause some people."
To be precise, it was Blitzer's own show that indulged in the rib-tickling name confusion last month, according to lefty media watchdog MediaMatters. On December 11, "The Situation Room" correspondent Jeanne Moos underlined the similarity between 'Osama' and 'Obama', adding, "as if that similarity weren't enough, how about sharing the name of a former dictator? You know his middle name, Hussein." During the same show, CNN senior political analyst Jeff Greenfield joked that Senator Obama's "business casual" get-up was reminiscent of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's "jacket-and-no-tie look."
Greenfield concluded: "Now, it is one thing to have a last name that sounds like Osama and a middle name, Hussein, that is probably less than helpful. But an outfit that reminds people of a charter member of the axis of evil, why, this could leave his presidential hopes hanging by a thread."
Though all of this hoo-ha is not nearly as malicious or calculated as the hype would have us believe, it does veer close to the lazy bungles made by Fox News, such as the false labelling of disgraced GOP Congressman Mark Foley as a "Democrat". Fox has yet to make use of the Obama/Osama trick, preferring instead to just lie point blank, so it's doubtful that this is a proper smear campaign - not yet anyway. No doubt if Obama throws his hat in the presidential ring, the gloves will come off for real.
Ted Kennedy, Democratic Senator for Massachussetts, was obviously still a bit flustered from being on the government's secret "no-fly" list in 2004 when he fluffed Obama's name. Speaking at the National Press Club on the future of the Democratic Party back in January 2005, he said: "Why don't we just ask Osama bin -- Osama Obama -- Obama what -- since he won by such a big amount. Seriously, Senator Obama is really unique and special."
But one man's error is another man's excuse, and right-wing pundit Rush Limbaugh took up the "Osama Obama" refrain throughout 2005, claiming that he was merely mocking Senator Kennedy. On the July 11, 2005 edition of his show, Limbaugh poked fun at Obama using his new 'accidental' moniker:
"Obama Osama Obama was in Florida over the weekend stumping for [Sen.] Bill Nelson [D-FL], and he said Democrats have got trouble. [...] So here's Osama Obama now. One speech at a convention and he's living off it. He's a rookie. He's a rookie senator. [...] Now, if you're wondering why I'm calling him "Obama Osama," Ted Kennedy was at the National Press Club and made a speech and in the question-and-answer session, he got a question about Obama and actually called him, "Osama Obama," what did he call him? "Obama bin Laden" or something. He did correct himself, but it caused us -- we had no choice, folks, we had to do a parody tune out of this.
The parody tune, apparently, is set to the melody of 'La Bamba'.
And now we come to the latest of these blunders - CNN's plastering of the phrase "Where's Obama?" underneath footage of a feature on bin Laden, which was shown during Wolf Blitzer's "The Situation Room." CNN has since apologised, and Obama's press spokesman Tommy Vietor offered a wry acceptance: "Though I'd note that the 's' and 'b' keys aren't all that close to each other, I assume it was just an innocent mistake."
Maybe so, but according to The Age, such errors had been reported on by CNN beforehand: "the graphics department did have prior warning about the potential for confusion from their own station, with CNN running a news story in December on the trouble Obama's name can cause some people."
To be precise, it was Blitzer's own show that indulged in the rib-tickling name confusion last month, according to lefty media watchdog MediaMatters. On December 11, "The Situation Room" correspondent Jeanne Moos underlined the similarity between 'Osama' and 'Obama', adding, "as if that similarity weren't enough, how about sharing the name of a former dictator? You know his middle name, Hussein." During the same show, CNN senior political analyst Jeff Greenfield joked that Senator Obama's "business casual" get-up was reminiscent of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's "jacket-and-no-tie look."
Greenfield concluded: "Now, it is one thing to have a last name that sounds like Osama and a middle name, Hussein, that is probably less than helpful. But an outfit that reminds people of a charter member of the axis of evil, why, this could leave his presidential hopes hanging by a thread."
Though all of this hoo-ha is not nearly as malicious or calculated as the hype would have us believe, it does veer close to the lazy bungles made by Fox News, such as the false labelling of disgraced GOP Congressman Mark Foley as a "Democrat". Fox has yet to make use of the Obama/Osama trick, preferring instead to just lie point blank, so it's doubtful that this is a proper smear campaign - not yet anyway. No doubt if Obama throws his hat in the presidential ring, the gloves will come off for real.
posted by L.R.A. Laurent at 8:30 AM
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