Let Me Count Thy Names

[Note: I invite you to read Mike Gray's review in The American Culture of my novel The Kicker of St. John's Wood.]

I thought it would be an amusing exercise to try and catalog the various nicknames for President Obama. Over the past year, as we jump from the neo-Marxist frying pan into the Obamamite fire, I have been impressed by the creativity on display across the blogosphere, as shades of meaning are ascribed to political reality via the presidential moniker.

Please feel free to supplement my list of nicknames.

Here goes.

The Affirmative Action President. Reminding us of the manner in which the president reached the White House.

Apologizer-in-Chief. Reference to the president’s obsessive habit of apologizing, at the drop of a hat, for real or imagined American behavior.

Barry Soetoro. A name once used by the president. Employed when the writer wishes to highlight the president’s elusive identity. Variant: Soetoro.

BHO. Makes the president seem puny in comparison with other “three-letter” presidents, such as JFK. Also reminds us of the semi-verboten “H.”

The Big O. Probably inspired by the “O” sign, as practiced by Obamamites (two cupped hands with fingertips touching, producing the letter “O”). Variant: O.

B. Hussein. Emphasizes the taboo middle name, never enunciated in polite society, which makes us instinctively squirm. Variants: Hussein; B. Hussein Obama.

Bowbama. Becoming popular after the president’s submissive and humiliating bow to the emperor of Japan. For a graphic illustration, see this cartoon. Variant: Obowma.

Chairman Zero. A hybrid that expresses worthlessness while alluding to the communist style of addressing leaders, as in “Chairman Mao.”

The Chicago Jesus. See below, entry “The Obamessiah.”

Community-Organizer-in-Chief. Recognizes the immense contribution by the president to the community-organizing profession worldwide.

Dear Leader. Heavy on the totalitarian aspect. Used by the North Korean government to refer to dictator Kim Jong II.

Dear Liar. Play on Dear Leader, probably inspired by the shout of “You lie!” directed at the president by Congressman Joe Wilson.

Fauxbama. Adds the sophistication of a little français.

Field Marshal Obama. I recently saw this in the context of the president’s dithering on Afghanistan.

Narcissist-in-Chief. It goes without saying that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Nobama. Catchy bumper-sticker material. Can be combined graphically with the red circle and diagonal line of prohibitory signage, such as that for No Smoking.

The Obamessiah. A reminder of the cult of personality surrounding the current occupant of the White House. Variant: The Messiah.

0bama. Using the zero key instead of the letter O.

Obamanation. More a description of the geniuses who elected the man, than of the man himself.

Obamao. In vogue since the outing of Maoist White House communications chief Anita Dunn.

Obambi. Not sure what this means.

Obeyme. Used in reaction to threats, and declarations of inevitability, emanating from the White House.

Obummer. Holds particular significance for people who came of age in the 1960s or 70s.

Odumbo. Simultaneous reference to the president’s ears and his intellectual prowess. Variant: Dumbo.

Ogabe. Reference to Robert Mugabe, the infamous socialist dictator of Zimbabwe, who turned the breadbasket of Africa into an impoverished third-world cesspool. I believe “Ogabe” originated in a remark made by Rush Limbaugh.

The One. And only.

President Pantywaist. I believe this term was coined by a British tabloid, while discussing the president’s approach to foreign policy.

TOTUS. Teleprompter of the United States, a play on POTUS (President of the United States).

Whiner-in-Chief. Reference to the incessant claims of victimhood that characterize the Left.

The Won. Play on “The One,” as we are endlessly reminded of the president’s electoral victory.

Zero. No commentary needed.

His Excellency, King Hussein: