I have to say I have not been very impressed with Barack Hussein Obama's reaction to the gratuitous use by opponents and their surrogates of his middle name, which is, apparently, itself, enough to draw the accusation of fear-mongering from the Obama camp.  I mean, whatever his opponents are insinuating by using his full name, the fact remains: it is his name.  It's not exactly hate speech we're talking here.

The media has shown its outrage, rallied around Obama, and praised John McCain for a promised moratorium on mentioning Obama's full name, which was certainly accommodating of him, but Obama's name isn't going away. Instead of blaming others for calling him what he is, after all, called, why hasn't Obama been able to come back with anything better than the accusation of "fearmongering" to neutralize these taunts? 

Couldn't the Obama camp use this as a teachable moment which would show that he, like all of us, deserves to take pride in his heritage and his name, while at the same time, outing and owning his name, himself?  This might be a better solution than insisting that no one ever mention it, as if it were a slur.  Which will only encourage whispering campaigns, anyway.  Maybe it's time that, much like Romney gave his Mormon Speech, Obama give his Middle-Name Speech.  Spice it up with some of that inspirational mumbo-jumbo he's so well-known for. 

The Obama camp has appeared defensive, and risks worse: coming off as anti-Muslim.  His fear of the taint of his own name may end up tainting his campaign.  Repudiating radical Islam is easy enough.  But it's disappointing that the candidate of unification can't seem to find a way to defend the great majority of moderate Muslims living peacefully among us, with no reason to be ashamed of their religion, or their names.  Instead, he seems to have chosen, in essence, to repudiate his own.