Sure, Obama's name is easy to smear now, but

[ginnyinWI]

--wouldn't it become a huge asset, should he become president, when he's meeting with world leaders, particularly those who are Muslim? In addition to his connections with Africa? I think it would. I wish voters would take this into account.

[AtomicKitten]

1. A President Obama will transform the image of America on Day #1 with promise and hope.

[AGirl]

2. same with a woman leader. - big asset for women everywhere.

imagine all the world leaders having to deal with a woman leader from the most powerful nation of the world.

[Cronus Protagonist]

3. Yes, and this is exaclty why right wing nutjobs hate him so much

He would be somehow more friendly, more appealing to the "ragheads" and sell the country out. That's why they want him to be the Democratic nominee - easy to beat.

[baldguy]

6. Keeping them from attacking us by having a hob-nailed boot on their neck is SOOO much better.

[rox63]

4. I agree with you on this

He spent 4 years of his childhood living in a majority-Muslim country. (Indonesia) Both his father and his step-father were Muslim. So I believe that he will have a greater understanding of Muslim culture, including what's appropriate and what's not. And I think Middle-Eastern and African nations will treat him with respect because of that. He's actually got supporters in Africa. I believe someone holding an "Obama '08" sign showed up in some of the pics of *'s recent Africa trip.

[MethuenProgressive]

5. Someone in the Clinton Camp said pretty much the same thing - and was slammed for being a racist.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/17/kerrey-tries-to-explain-obama-muslim-remarks/
Bob Kerry:

“The fact that he’s African-American is a big deal. I do expect and hope that Hillary is the nominee of the party. But I hope he’s used in some way. If he happens to be the nominee of the party and ends up being president, I think his capacity to influence in a positive way . . . the behavior of a lot of underperforming black youth today is very important, and he’s the only one who can reach them.”
Kerrey continued: “It’s probably not something that appeals to him, but I like the fact that his name is Barack Hussein Obama, and that his father was a Muslim and that his paternal grandmother is a Muslim. There’s a billion people on the planet that are Muslims, and I think that experience is a big deal.”

[ContinentalOp]

7. It's funny how quickly things become familiar.

When I first heard he was running for President I thought "no way can a guy with that name ever win." Now, through repetition it just seems completely normal to me. I suspect the same thing will happen with the rest of America. In a way this "Barack HUSSEIN Obama" silliness just helps him. As people continue to hear that name associated with someone positive it will start to lose any "sinister" connotations.

[Bucky]

8. Being president is the only asset any president needs.

Bush has no excuse for being so damn useless for the last seven years. Being named Hussein may get him a little more attention at first, but the bottom line for any American president will be what he does and how he presents itself.

[stellanoir]

9. Yes

There was an article on Huff Post last week about this very same concept.

I'd post a link but I don't remember the author's name. I'll see if I can find it though. Their search function is kinda funky.

We've PO ed 30% of the global population if not far more.

His name alone would be a tremendous asset in mending fences around the world for sure.

[stellanoir]

10. I found it

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/naomi-klein/obama-being-called-a-mus_b_89228.html

Can't believe I had a mental block on Naomi Klein's name since I'm a fan.

[ginnyinWI]

11. thanks--enjoyed that one

That is exactly my point. And Obama did do what she was advising during his 60 Minutes interview a few days later--he denounced the smear as being insulting to Muslims as well as not being true about himself.