Today hosts Dick Morris, who says people are debating whether Obama will be seen as "sleeper agent"

Summary: On Today, Dick Morris asserted: "[T]his whole debate about what kind of president [Sen. Barack] Obama would make has swirled around almost an existential level. Is he sort of a Manchurian candidate? A sleeper agent?" Morris has previously stated that "the determinant in the election will be whether we believe that Barack Obama is what he appears to be, or is he somebody who's sort of a sleeper agent who really doesn't believe in our system."

On the June 24 edition of NBC's Today, Fox News contributor Dick Morris asserted, "[T]his whole debate about what kind of president [Sen. Barack] Obama would make has swirled around almost an existential level. Is he sort of a Manchurian candidate? A sleeper agent? Or is he the great hope of the future?" Morris added, referring to his new book -- co-written with Eileen McGann -- "What we really do is we take what he said he'd do as president and really lay it out there." As Media Matters for America noted, on the May 7 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, Morris stated: "And the determinant in the election will be whether we believe that Barack Obama is what he appears to be, or is he somebody who's sort of a sleeper agent who really doesn't believe in our system and is more in line with [Reverend Jeremiah] Wright's views?"

On the June 10 edition of Fox News' America's Election HQ, Morris said, "[T]he question that plagues Obama is ... Is he pro-American?" Additionally, Media Matters has documented several media figures discussing whether Obama will be viewed as a "Manchurian Candidate."

From the June 24 edition of NBC's Today:

LAUER: It's a catchy title, but it might -- it might cause some people to say, "But, what's the main point?" What's your -- what's your main point you're trying to get across?

MORRIS: Well, there are about 10 or 20 of them, but the first chapter is probably the most important, which is that this whole debate about what kind of president Obama would make has swirled around an almost an existential level. Is he sort of a Manchurian candidate? A sleeper agent? Or is he the great hope of the future? What we really do is we take what he said he'd do as president and really lay it out there.

LAUER: And you lay it out there with some pretty catchy words.

—B.J.L.