The Republican National Committee wagged a finger at the Tennessee party yesterday after it pointedly used the full name “Barack Hussein Obama” in a press release questioning whether an Obama presidency would endanger Israel, Politico reports. The RNC added that if Obama’s Muslim-sounding middle name appears again, the committee will “publicly repudiate” the Tennessee GOP.
The Tennessee party chair insisted that the party has “a duty to inform the Republican base,” and that it is not working for John McCain, who himself apologized for the comment, saying sorry to Obama for the second time in two days. “There will be times in this campaign where people do and say stupid things,” said a McCain spokeswoman. (More Election 2008 stories.)