On the road today, I was able to scan some conservative talk radio. This morning, Michael Smerconish’s callers were screeching about the president’s reference to his middle name in his Cairo speech and, this afternoon, Hannity’s callers were all over it, too.
The basic line: “Why is the president allowed to say Barack Hussein Obama now, but during the campaign they didn’t let anyone say it? WHY! WHY! My rubber pants hurt!”
I made up the wingnut rubber pants part.
Of course Smerconish corrected his callers with the same response I was simultaneously screaming at my radio: When crazies like Bill Cunningham, Ann Coulter and others referenced “Hussein” during the campaign, it was clearly an attack intended to fuel the bogus internet rumors about his lineage. When the president says it, it’s just his middle name.
But Hannity was totally agreeing with his callers.
