Will Barack Obama use his middle name when taking the oath of office?

Ooh, great question!

I was cautioned that some might consider it racist to use his middle name... taking that under advisement and considering he's not racist (I know because he disavowed his racist pastor) NO might be a safe bet.

Jessie was crying with happiness during his inaguration. In my mind, thats reason enough to not vote for him!

I don't know how reliable this source is, but they say Obama considered changing his name for the inauguration and decided against it: http://www.scrappleface.com/?p=3148

With a name like "scrapple face" im guessing its pretty unreliable

I believe it is a joke/satire site.

No kidding :)

just backin' you up, dragon :)

No i was agreeing with you! I realize now that may have sounded wrong.

i guess it might depend on how chief justice roberts ask him...do you barrack obama or do you barrack hussein obama swear to..etc etc.

Or "Do you unqualified liberal swear to...ect ect"

Perhaps some of you can help me understand why Barack Obama's middle name is such a huge issue for Republicans.

Because it annoys liberals.

But, it isn't an issue for any Democrat that I know. It only seems to bother Republicans.

It annoys liberals that it seems to bother republicans.

@ 12

...perhaps because for someone so wonderful, so full of poise and confidence, so proud of their story, so inspiring yet so reluctant to be addressed by their entire name, it just seems.... odd.

Please name any previous recent president addressed by their entire name. I'm thinking George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George Bush, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Harry Truman..............hmmm, no middle names there.

Recent president addressed by their entire name: Barrack Hussein Obama

@emmag - none of those were addressed by their full names for the swearing in? i.e. george herbert walker bush, william jefferson clinton, lyndon baines johnson, etc. I thought Truman was even sworn in with his middle name "S."

I have found a website that has videos of all the presidents taking the oath of office since FDR. Two did not use middle names: Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. The site is

http://www.templestudy.com/2008/02/18/the-presidents-oath-of-office/

So, my question remains.

So all of the rest of the presidents since FDR did use their middle names? In that case, it doesn't sound like Obama will be breaking with tradition if he either does or does not use his full name.

ty for the link, emmag. It was interesting to see that Eisenhower and Ford both used their middle initial instead of using their full name. Yet another option for Obama. I wonder, if he does that, how will hubdub settle this question?

This market will only settle as YES if he uses his middle name Hussein, if he shortens to H, then that would be a NO settlement.

ccviking, Carter and Reagan did NOT use middle names or middle initials.

The link provided by emmag is most instructive, and here is my take on this. First, the Chief Justice asks, "Do you, [insert name here], solemnly swear... " etc. Then the President-elect says "I, [his name *verbatim* as spoken by the CJ] ...". Now, my sense is that Chief Justice Roberts is a reasonably nice guy, and probably knows that if he says "Barack Hussein Obama" it might be perceived as a lead-in forcing Obama to say the full name. For his part, Obama would not want to break precedent and appear evasive by saying simply "I Barack Obama...". Therefore, the name Hussein will NOT be used during the swearing-in ceremony.

Surely Obama would have the final say in how his name will be read out by the Chief Justice? They would organise it before the actual ceremony

I would think so, jbrown. I guess we'll all know the answer on Jan. 20.

Actually, just something interesting in relation to what raidersin09 was saying... when Harry S. Truman (who did not actually have a middle name, just a middle initial) was sworn in, the Chief Justice started the oath by saying "I, Harry Shipp Truman" - Truman responded back with "I, Harry S. Truman" (his middle initial S came from his grandfathers who each had a name starting with an S - Shipp being the middle name of one of the grandfathers).

too early to settle... he might forget his name by then ;-)

Hello all...I am new and wondered why this question would be suspened?

@mroni - Thanks for taking the time to ask your question, and welcome to Hubdub. Before I answer it I will let you know that in the future the most efficient way to get a question about a market answered is to click the flag for review button, type in your question and then an email is sent directly to the category editor. Depending on the amount of comments it is not always possible to read through them all and I would hate for your question to get skipped over. Now to your question.
This market was suspended by one of our super users who suspended the market when the media reported that Obama was planning on using his middle name during the ceremony. I received the flag that the market was suspended and thought I took the necessary action to unsuspend the market, as I am going to let this market go until the actual event occurs, however after seeing your comment I realized I did not unsuspend the market and for that I am sorry. So to sum it up, I screwed up and didn't unsuspend market when I thought I did. I am unsuspending market now and will only settle after the event takes place.

Good decision Destry. The question was "Will Barack Obama use his middle name when taking the oath of office?" not "will the media report that Barack Obama will use his middle name when taking the oath of office". I don't have anything doing here, but as a policy, it would be nice if the "all-powerful" with the right to suspend things would read the question carefully and not jump at any opportunity to exercise their "power."

This way we can allocate our finite resources where they can best be used. Had this question remained suspended until the inauguration, everyone would have their H$ tied up until then. Now, someone who predicted yes can cash in at 85% if they have a better opportunity elsewhere, or they can keep it invested here if THEY decide to, not the person who jumps to suspend the question.

I think they were afraid to use his middle name when he was running because they knew the Americans might be afraid of it but NOW that he is the Messiah he will use it because it is now "in your face" "get over it" "you are in trouble" "get ready for the fairness doctrine"
Love Obama

destry...lol...thank you for the tips and the explanation...you gave me a laugh..

Recent president often addressed with middle name included: Harry S Truman. The "S" isn't an initial, but his actual middle name. They had two middle names in mind at birth, both beginning with the letter "S". They couldn't decide which to give him, so they gave him the middle name "S". Don't believe me? Look it up... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_S._Truman#Truman.27s_middle_initial

Looks like he's using an "H" only.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iydOFwQjRIlNE0a-DhN1unl498lgD95L158O0

Nice find, Tarpash!

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter was asked in advance if he wanted to use his full name when taking the oath. His response was, "God no!" He was sworn in as Jimmy Carter.

'Barrack Obama' is unique enough of a name that he doesn't really need another one to identify himself.

'H" was used for the dry run, but now reports say that Hussein will be used at inauguration

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/01/11/2009-01-11_what_the_h_presidentelect_barack_obamas_.html

He just used it! :D