Deceit is a statement that is literally true, but intended to mislead and deceive others. It is especially conducive to disingenuous denials when the device is sniffed out, which makes it much more effective than straight-out lies. Barack Obama, running as the first black man to have a realistic shot at the presidency, has inspired some of the most pointed and effective examples of campaign deceit in memory. When he first emerged as a serious obstacle to Hillary Clinton and her husband's coronation, the Clintons set out to remind all the bigots in the voting pool that Obama was, in fact, black, by comparing him to other black figures such as Jesse Jackson and Martin Luther King. They had "plausible deniability" that their intent was malicious, and took full advantage of it: why, anyone seeing a message with racist undertones in their words must be the real bigot! Republican strategists who devised the Willy Horton ads to help George H.W. Bush had test-marketed this dodge, but this time, few were fooled.

Then, as Camp Clinton saw the presidential nomination slipping away, it released a photograph of Obama wearing traditional Somali garb while on a trip to Africa. The photo was as meaningful as the famous photo of Calvin Coolidge wearing a Native American war bonnet, but it carried a nasty message: Are you sure that this black man with the Muslim-sounding name is really on our side? Doesn't it make you, well, nervous? This is photo deceit of the highest order. The implication of the photograph is unfair, visceral and irrational, and also absolutely the only reason it was released. Yet those responsible can claim innocence, and did so, with a shameless vehemence that should give any ethical person chills.

"Enough," intoned Clinton's campaign manager Maggie Williams. "If Barack Obama's campaign wants to suggest that a photo of him wearing traditional Somali clothing is divisive, they should be ashamed. Hillary Clinton has worn the traditional clothing of countries she has visited and had those photos published widely. This is nothing more than an obvious and transparent attempt to distract from the serious issues confronting our country today and to attempt to create the very divisions they claim to decry. We will not be distracted."

Brilliant execution, Maggie! Brava! Except that as an African American yourself, she knew precisely why showing a black presidential candidate in Muslim African garb was divisive in a way that showing Hillary Clinton wearing the same clothing would not be. If she didn't, all she had to do was listen to conservative talk radio hosts, who were, oddly enough, rushing to Senator Clinton's defense. Senator Obama has said that he would be able to open diplomatic lines with Muslim groups, clucked Rush and his buddies. This is why! Doesn't he look comfortable in those robes? Do you listeners really think this man who looks credible as a Somali chieftain will fight Islamic terrorists? Hmmmm?

And yet nobody ever suggested that Calvin Coolidge was a threat to give the plains states back to the Sioux.

The photo trick didn't work very well for Clinton, who is courting Democrats. But the conservative talk radio crowd was inspired, and engineered a full launch of name deceit, a device that hasn't been tried in American presidential elections before but is likely to be a staple of Decision '08. Barack Obama's middle name is Hussein, as in Saddam. It is a very, very common name in Africa and in Islam nations, and of course, like all names, is just a collection of sounds: it tells us nothing about the man who bears it. But in 2008, the associations sparked by the name are negative to a large number of voters. Imagine if Thomas Dewey's middle name were Adolph. Or if John Kennedy's middle name was Ivan. So the worst of the talk radio flame-breathers are fond of calling Senator Obama by his full name, usually with a vocal punch and a thinly-veiled sneer. Ohio's Bill Cunningham, one of the more revolting of this breed, used the device to rile up the crowd at a John McCain rally, and after McCain explicitly deplored it, kicked his colleagues and admirers into a full-fledge orgy of dishonesty that was something to behold.

"I mean, this is the man's name!" protested Sean Hannity, feigning astonishment. "His parents gave it to him. We didn't! It is just outrageous that Senator McCain would attack Bill Cunningham for using the man's real name!" The same blather was issued by Limbaugh, by Mark Levin, by Michael Gallagher, by Randy Humphreys, by Michael Reagan, each one proving, if there was any doubt, that they possess neither honesty, fairness, civility, decency, or respect for their listeners' intelligence---which, if they continue to listen to these hucksters after this episode, probably doesn't deserve respect. One question: would Cunningham, or anyone else, be using Obama's middle name if it were Henderson, Collins, or Mcgillicuddy rather than Hussein? Of course not. There is only one reason they use the name: to unsettle ignorant citizens who think that Obama might secretly harbor sympathy for terrorists. His wife, Michelle, has called the use of Hussein a "fear bomb." Exactly so.

Just because the tactics of name deceit and photo deceit are blatantly offensive and unfair, don't think that they can't be effective. Barack Obama's race is not the only impediment to his election. In over two centuries, the U.S. has never elected a president with anything but a Northern European surname, and a disproportionate number of our Chief Executives were born with blue, hazel or grey eyes. In a nation obsessed with appearances, looking and sounding more like a Muslim political leader than an American one is a serious handicap for Senator Obama, and loutish radio hosts won't be the only ones trying to exploit it. But when they do, it will tell us far more about their character than Obama's clothes and middle name tell us about his.