The (Middle) Name Is Hussein

A growing group of Barack Obama fans are adopting his middle name, even as conservative pundits use it to label him a Muslim or terrorist, the New York Times reports. The trend of using "Hussein" has picked up speed since February and exists mostly online, in blogs and on Facebook. "I am sick of Republicans" using Obama's middle name like "some sort of cuss word," blogged Jeff "Hussein" Strabone.

Meanwhile, Obama's camp has distanced itself from Islam, canceling a pro-Obama appearance by a Muslim lawmaker last year and steering women with headscarves away from a campaign camera last month. But when a contributor wore "Hussein" on his nametag recently, Obama had no complaints: "The theory was, we're all Hussein," he said. (More Islam stories.)