Is Ted Kennedy proofchecking at CNN?

A couple years ago, Ted Kennedy was giving a speech and somehow managed to mangle together Barack Obama's name and Osama bin Laden's name. Yesterday, CNN was attempting to divert attention from Saddam Hussein's demise by hyping the failure to get Osama bin Laden and the headline on the screen read: “Where's Obama?” Amazing. While Kennedy blurred (or slurred) the two names at least he had the excuse that it was a live event. CNN had no such excuse.

Separately from CNN's mistake is how much will Obama's name impact his presidential aspirations? Beyond his last name sounding similar to bin Laden's first name he also has Hussein as his middle name. This past weekend, my brother told me there is no way America would elect someone with his name as president. I half-heartedly argued with him that it shouldn't matter and that people should decide based on his qualifications and whether his positions on issues are in line with theirs. Even as I said that, I knew I was wrong about the electorate. Like it or not, a good percentage of voters don't consider (or even understand) a candidate's position on the various issues of the day.