# Is It Partisan to Say "Barack Hussein Obama" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 6, 2012, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-partisan-to-say-barack-hussein-obama/621045 "2012-05-06T03:51:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-partisan-to-say-barack-hussein-obama/621045/61 "2012-05-07T17:43:50Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > It’s his name, that’s a fact, and I don’t think facts are partisan. > > I heard plenty of William Jefferson Clinton and George Herbert Walker Bush, were those partisan? You haven’t been reading the topic, have you? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-partisan-to-say-barack-hussein-obama/621045/62 "2012-05-07T18:03:14Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Saying “Barack Hussein Obama” is a cheap partisan ploy, almost always used by the same people who attribute evil to the “Democrat” Party (instead of the Democratic Party). > > People who do this are in the same juvenile league as those who can’t refer to the “Republican Party”, but employ variations like Pubbies and Rethuglicans. “Democrat” is minor. Most people use it as shorthand, Rs and Ds and others, not with malice. “Democrat Party” irks me, though. I’ve never got anything _hugely_ partisan about Pubbie, but I could be wrong. It does kinda suggest “pube” :dubious:. Rethuglican and Demoncrat and Democrap, those can’t be partisan, could they? And lie-beral and cuntservative. George Clinton is a Partisan of Funk, and Billy Bush is… some guy who is famous for something. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-partisan-to-say-barack-hussein-obama/621045/63 "2012-05-07T23:11:03Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > What, armadillo-pig-aardvarks with gems in their foreheads? I wish I knew what that referred to. And I’ve still got two wishes left! ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-partisan-to-say-barack-hussein-obama/621045/64 "2012-05-08T00:39:10Z")
A mythological creature that has a gem embedded in its head. It has appeared in Borges’ _Book of Imaginary Beings_ and _Final Fantasy_ as a summon. It is also used as a term for a certain cut or red gemstone, although I am unsure which came first. I think the stone. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-partisan-to-say-barack-hussein-obama/621045/65 "2012-05-08T00:54:47Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > It’s his name, that’s a fact, and I don’t think facts are partisan. But the way they’re discussed and used certainly can be. That’d be the issue here. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-partisan-to-say-barack-hussein-obama/621045/66 "2012-05-08T06:09:19Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > I wish I knew what that referred to. > > And I’ve still got two wishes left! Initially, a carbuncle referred to any red round gemstone, but mostly synonymous with garnet. Then t[he DnD guys](http://thearchnemesis.com/Failed%20Monsters.html) got hold of it… I don’t know if this was before or after Borges ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-partisan-to-say-barack-hussein-obama/621045/67 "2012-05-08T06:27:18Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Initially, a carbuncle referred to any red round gemstone, but mostly synonymous with garnet. And it’s also the etymological origin for the surnames Garfunkel and Finkelstein. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-partisan-to-say-barack-hussein-obama/621045/68 "2012-05-08T11:50:52Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > It’s his name, that’s a fact, and I don’t think facts are partisan. > > I heard plenty of William Jefferson Clinton and George Herbert Walker Bush, were those partisan? Facts are not partisan, but the way you apply them can be. Context is important. For example, in American culture, it is very rare to refer to someone by their full name. Typically first and last name are more than sufficient, even when you have people with the same name, you are more likely to differentiate them by occupation than by middle name. For example, [Rebecca Black the singer and Rebecca Black the personal trainer.](http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/2011/08/30/westerville-rebecca-black-mix-up.html) ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-partisan-to-say-barack-hussein-obama/621045/69 "2012-05-08T13:27:30Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > In theory there’s nothing partisan about using his middle name, but in practice I’ve never heard it used otherwise. A fact is neutral, but the sneer on the mouth the fact issues from isn’t. See post #29… you might also have noticed that in a recent thread about how religious schools indoctrinate their students but public school teachers never do. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-partisan-to-say-barack-hussein-obama/621045.md?page=3)