Cross-posted at :  http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/10/8/171233/397/451/604658

So, with Willie "Compost" Platt III referring to Barack Obama's middle name "Hussein" at a rally in Lehigh, Pa., today ...

Which of course follows immediately on the heels of Sheriff Mike "Short Cock" Scott's reference at Sarah "Six- Colleges-in-Six-years" Palin's rally in Florida yesterday ...

(Really Mike, to use your exact words -- "there was no intention" to insinuate anything here -- nothing at all!!!)

And of course, there are any number of other examples to point to -- like (here) ( here) ( here) amongst the thousands of references to Barack Obama's middle name now circulating in the rightwing wingnutosphere.

I thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of the more odd middle names of U.S. Presidents over the years. Not that  Sidney ain't a pretty good one in and of itself, John S. McCain.  

Of course, to start off with it should be noted that George Washington apparently had no middle name.  Not even an initial.  Which today might be considered distinctly un-American.  Apparently, there's a book called George Washington Had No Middle Name written by a woman with the middle name "Lee".  Which is somewhat of a uni-sex type of name -- and open to all kinds of salacious insinuations.

But I digress.

Now, John Adams had no middle name either.  But he had the good sense to do the good-American thing and select a middle name for his son and future president John "Quincy" Adams.  I say "good sense" -- although the fact that he got a middle name at all might very well be attributed to   Abigail Adams who was a descendant of the Quincy family.

Thomas Jefferson...James Madison...James Monroe:  Believe it or not, none of these past Presidents had a middle names.  Must've been a early-colonial thing.  In fact, beyond John Quincy Adams, you have to go all the way to 1841 before we hit another President with a middle name.  (No, "Van" was not Martin Van Buren's middle name).  Which brings us to William "Henry" Harrison.  And a lot of good the name "Henry" did for Mr. Harrison.  As the wikipedia entry above, notes, William Henry Harrison's presidency lasted all of 30 days, 12 hours, and 30 minutes.  (Geez, you ever wonder who keeps track of this stuff?)  

Okay.  So now we get to John Tyler, who also had no middle name.  In fact, except for James K. Polk (yup, you guessed it --  "Knox") this country went almost 30 years before a future American president had the decency (or was it bravery--given the tenuous ground one apparently walks upon by publicly airing one's a middle name?!!) to offer one up:  I'm talking about Ulysses S. Grant..  What did the "S" stand for, you ask?  Steven, perhaps?  Samuel?  Salvador?  Sebellius, maybe?

Ah.  No.  As far as I can tell from this Wikipedia entry, it didn't stand for anything.  In fact, his real name apparently was Hiram Ulysses Grant.  HIRAM?!!  HIRAM?!!  Now, set aside the fact that that I have never in the 46 years of walking this God's green Earth met anyone with the first name HIRAM; set that aside because -- does HIRAM not sound suspiciously foreign to you too?!!!  

Civil war hero my arse!

AND IT DOESN'T STOP THERE!!!   Rutherford B. Hayes had the middle name Birchard!!!!  James A. Garfield was stuck with Abram!!  (Okay, that one's not so bad.)  Theodore Roosevelt apparently had no middle name (though he did have an older sister with the nickname "Bamie").

Which brings me to Warren "Gamaliel" Harding!  Gamaliel?  What foul and sinister something-or-another-whatnot-what-have-you do we have here?  A Republican from Ohio it says here.  Hmmmmmm.  Conservative political leanings.  Hmmmmmm.   Married himself a divorcee' and was a freemason.  

A freemason.  Very, very suspicious.  

Well, by now--I think you get the picture.  Delano -- as in Franklin Delano Roosevelt -- isn't exactly your everyday-type name.  Baines (Lyndon Baines Johnson) ain't winning no name popularity contests either.  Nor is Millhouse (see Richard M. Nixon).  Gerald Ford's middle name was Rudolph.  Jimmy Beatlejuice Carter.  (Okay, I made that one up.  His middle name is "Earl".)

And, now that I think about it,  Walker is kind of an odd name for someone who likes to ride his bike a lot.  Pee Wee seems like it would have been a whole lot more appropriate.

George "PeeWee" Bush.

And I've skipped completely over the very suspicious Harry S (no period after S ... S don't stand for nothing!) Truman.  

To summarize:  Birchard ... Gamaliel ... Hiram ... S.  Amongst this group, and the others, does Hussein really seem all that odd?  We are a nation of immigrants.  Of unique people.  With unique backgrounds.  And unusual names.  Names don't mean a thing, of course.  And these names don't mean a thing to any living American in and of themselves.  It's what we these people do once they enter public office that they are remembered for.  Barack Hussein Obama will be no different.