Barack Hussein Obama's big opportunity

Conservative radio talk show host Willie Cunningham started a nationwide controversy when he used Barack Hussein Obama's full name while introducing John Sidney McCain at a campaign rally in Cincinnati. McCain's campaign had asked Cunningham to throw the conservative Cincinnati crowd some red meat, what he does best, and Cunningham worked up the crowd by railing against liberals and the liberal media. McCain hadn't arrived yet, but the campaign officials complemented Willie on a job well done.

Willie Cunningham is an icon in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, broadcasting on WLW's 50,000 watt blowtorch to his faithful conservative audience all the way across three states. Cunningham's show has more listeners than any other radio show in all three states. John McCain can only wish he had as much support in the tri-state as Willie Cunningham.

So for McCain to score Willie to introduce him at a campaign event was a big win. That's why it's stunning that John McCain subsequently repudiated Willie's use of Obama's middle name. By pandering to the liberals and mainstream media, McCain took a shot at every conservative in the tri-state. McCain's apology for Willie has played well in New York, but it has cost him in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. And I shouldn't need to explain how important Ohio is in November.

And that creates a huge opportunity for Obama.

Obama has a chance to step up and take leadership on the issue of his name. The reaction to Cunningham's use of Obama's full name shows that the liberal media reflexively identify the name Hussein with terrorism. They project their personal fears on anybody who uses Obama's middle name, calling them racists, like they called Willie Cunningham a racist. And Willie uses everybody's middle name. It's part of his shtick.

So while John McCain has jumped on the reflexively racist bandwagon by repudiating Willie, Barack Obama should come forward and embrace Willie. He can be the statesman reaching out to conservatives and rejecting reflexive racism. He should shake Willie's hand and tell Willie and the world that he knows Willie is not a racist. Obama should publicly and proudly embrace the name Hussein, given to him by his parents, and invite everybody in America to embrace it as well.

John McCain was considered a marginal candidate in the tri-state to begin with. His attack on Willie Cunningham marginalized him further. Barack Obama has the opportunity to walk into the WLW radio station, get on the air with Cunningham and show conservatives that he's the big man compared to small John McCain. That kind of political courage would insure his nomination and launch him into the national campaign. Obama has the opportunity to disarm the nation about using his middle name so that the debate for the rest of the election is about issues, experience and character, not his name. Plus, he has the opportunity to win over some conservatives in the tri-state, or at least to further separate them from McCain.

Obama talks about uniting America and transcending traditional politics. His big opportunity to do more than talk about it waits in Cunningham's WLW studio.