Osama, er Obama for president

He's raised so much campaign money people think he works for Amway, he's written two best-sellers, he's taking on the Clintons, he's even stopped smoking.

Barack Obama, it's obvious, is willing to do everything he can to become president.

So why doesn't he change his name?

I'm not saying you can't become president of the United States when your name happens to rhyme with America's No. 1 enemy.

But it is sort of comparable to training like a maniac for the Tour de France and then strapping 10 pounds on your back at the starting line.

I bring this up because it happened again last week. Obama was mixed up with Osama, and this time by Mitt Romney, of all people.

Romney was at a campaign stop in South Carolina when he said Barack Obama and meant Osama bin Laden.

The exact quote went like this: "Just look at what Osam — Barack Obama — said just yesterday. Barack Obama, calling on radicals, jihadists of all different types, to come together in Iraq."

Two observations: if Romney, a summa cum laude college graduate, can confuse Obama with Osama, anybody can; and Romney needs more sleep.

It's like the bumper stickers in 2002 said, "Mitt Happens."

The "O" glitch happens a lot. It happened to Ted Kennedy at the National Press Club two years ago when he referred to Obama as Osama. It happened when CNN ran a documentary about "The Hunt for Obama."

None of this is Obama's fault. He was named after his father, a student from Kenya who was attending the University of Hawaii when his son was born in 1961.

This was four years after the birth of Osama bin Laden in 1957 in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia.

One would become a legitimate candidate for president of the same country that the other one would declare war upon.

It also doesn't help that "Barack" rhymes with "Iraq."

And Obama's middle name only exasperates things.

It's "Hussein."

Introducing the first black president of the United States: Barack Hussein Obama.

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It wouldn't be unheard of to change your name. Americans do it. My grandfather changed his name soon after emigrating from Sweden, from Bengtsson to Benson. (Family legend says it was because the name kept getting misspelled; I'm guessing it was because it was easier).

At the very least, Barack could use the nickname of his youth: Barry.

Look what using a nickname did for Rocky Anderson. He couldn't even beat Merrill Cook as Ross Anderson, but when he became Rocky, he won two terms as Salt Lake's mayor in a landslide.

For that matter, Mitt Romney could use his first name and run for president as Willard Romney. Think that would help his chances?

Or maybe Obama could use his mother's maiden name of Dunham. (His mom, Ann Dunham, came from Kansas.)

Vote for Barry Dunham.

Or maybe Barry O-Dunham. Or how about Barry O'Dunham?

It's no Franklin Roosevelt, but it's no sound-alike to an international thug terrorist public enemy No. 1 either.

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Lee Benson's column runs Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Please send e-mail to benson@desnews.com and faxes to 801-237-2527.