Obama’s name carried Arabic resonances mirrored in his media critics’ own identities

Evidence

Barack, from Arabic, sounds identical to Wolf Blitzer’s last name in Hebrew, Ze’ev Barak, under which name he used to write for Israeli and American Israel Public Affairs Committee ooutlets. When Rahm Emanuel was appointed as Barack Obama’s chief of staff, Wolf Blitzer made a point about the middle name of Rahm Emanuel, “Israel,” and the middle name of Barack Obama, “Hussein”—adding that “only in America can a Hussein and an Israel be in the White House”. — Hamid Dabashi, Brown Skin, White Masks, 748

Categorization

• CANDY: Fun elevator tidbit: Barack and Ze’ev Barak sound alike; Blitzer himself was named Barak.
• XREF: Connects to the broader theme elsewhere in this book of name-and-identity echo chambers in the media around Obama’s Muslim background.