USA Follow

Barack Obama today confirmed that he will take the presidential oath of office using his middle name, Hussein, a choice depicted as routine but likely to be viewed as an olive branch by majority-Muslim nations. Obama's oath-taking plan comes after a campaign season that saw his full name used in a pejorative capacity by several allies of his rival, John McCain. The president-elect described taking the oath with his full name as a run-of-the-mill decision not intended to be significant.