On the February 28 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Michael Savage repeatedly referred to Sen. Barack Obama as “Barack Hussein Obama” and asked, "[W]hy are there no queries being provoked by Saddam Hussein -- I mean, Barack Hussein Obama?" Savage noted a February 28 New York Times article on the constitutional question of whether Sen. John McCain's Panama Canal Zone birth made him ineligible to become president. He then stated: “But why are there no queries being provoked about Saddam Hussein -- I mean, Barack Hussein Obama? If, after all, the arch-enemy of Iraq, his name was Saddam Hussein, isn't it logical that us stupid Americans would like to know why the man who would be president has a name that's similar to our -- to our enemy in Iraq, Hussein?” Savage continued: “I mean, let's turn it around. We just killed Adolf Hitler, and now a man is running for president, and his name happens to be, let us say, Harry Hitler Jones. Say, wow, wait a minute, why would his name be Harry Hitler Jones? How dare you raise the question of his middle name being Hitler!” Additionally, speaking with a caller, Savage asked: “Why is he named for Saddam Hussein -- I mean, the same name as Saddam Hussein?”

Later in the program, Savage stated: “Is Hussein a Christian saint? We're hearing over and over again that we can't ask about his middle name Hussein, Barack Hussein Obama. And yet I've asked myself, if he's a Christian why does he have a name Hussein, and who is Hussein? Hussein is the grandson of Mohammed, nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with it at all.” He added: “So what he should say is, 'I'm proud of my middle name Hussein, I was named for Hussein by my father because Hussein is the grandson of Mohammed, and I'm proud of my Muslim heritage, and I'm a moderate Muslim and I totally oppose radical Islam. And I'll fight with all my heart to defeat the enemy. In fact, I might be able to fight better.' ” Savage has frequently attacked Obama, on one occasion falsely referring to him as “Barack Madrassas Obama” and, more recently, asserting that "[w]e have a right to know if he's a so-called friendly Muslim or one who aspires to more radical teachings." Obama is not a Muslim. The Obama campaign website states that Obama “has never been a Muslim, was not raised a Muslim, and is a committed Christian who attends the United Church of Christ.”

Savage also stated during the broadcast: “If a would-be president of the United States has a Muslim first and a Muslim second name, surely we have an obligation, have a minor right, we have a duty to ask him, where does he stand on the issue of terrorism? Where does he stand on the issue of Israel? Where does he stand on the -- so many issues facing America today?”

Additionally, Savage falsely claimed that Obama “has not disavowed his connections” to Nation of Islam founder Louis Farrakhan. Savage said: “So we have an obligation to ask him what he thinks about an endorsement of Obama by the Nation of Islam Jew-hater Louis Farrakhan. We have an obligation to ask Saddam -- I mean Obama Hussein Obama what he thinks about Farrakhan, who has called Judaism a gutter religion, why he has not disavowed his connections. Now, we hear that it is an untrue charge that he is a Muslim. Fair enough. But he has two Muslim names, so why are we not allowed to ask this question? Why? Why is it inappropriate?” Earlier, Savage said: “The fact that he's been endorsed by Louis Farrakhan, which I don't think he's disavowed, by the way. Doesn't that bother you?”

In fact, Obama has repeatedly denounced Farrakhan's statements and said during the February 26 Democratic presidential debate that he “would reject and denounce” Farrakhan's support. During the show, Savage also falsely claimed that Obama attends a “black-only church.”

Talk Radio Network, which syndicates Savage's show, says that Savage is heard on more than 350 radio stations. The Savage Nation reaches more than 8 million listeners each week, according to Talkers Magazine, making it one of the most listened-to talk radio shows in the nation, behind only The Rush Limbaugh Show and The Sean Hannity Show.

From the February 28 edition of Talk Radio Network's The Savage Nation:

SAVAGE: So they want to know if he can run for the presidency, even though he served America, flew jets for America, was tortured by the Vietnamese for America, paid nearly the ultimate price for America. But the pervert, coward, communist scum at The New York Times write an article, “McCain's Canal Zone Birth Provokes Queries about Whether That Rules Him Out.” Queries? Well, it's close to the appropriate word, because it begins with Q-U-E. Ah, but I don't think it promotes queries, I think it promotes something else. I think it provokes something else that begins with a Q-U-E. I'm not talking about the QU2, or the QE2.

But why are there no queries being provoked about Saddam Hussein -- I mean, Barack Hussein Obama? If, after all, the arch-enemy of Iraq, his name was Saddam Hussein, isn't it logical that us stupid Americans would like to know why the man who would be president has a name that's similar to our -- to our enemy in Iraq, Hussein? I mean, let's turn it around. We just killed Adolf Hitler, and now a man is running for president, and his name happens to be, let us say, Harry Hitler Jones. Say, wow, wait a minute, why would his name be Harry Hitler Jones? How dare you raise the question of his middle name being Hitler! That's irrelevant, that his father named him for Hitler! How dare you ask whether his father named him Hitler or not. It doesn't matter if his middle name is Hitler or not. It doesn't matter because he's not a Nazi, he's only a descendant of Germany. How dare you raise such a question. So I'm gonna raise such a question.

Is Hussein a Christian saint? No, he's the grandson of Mohammed. So if a man, whose name -- whose middle name is for the grandson of -- of the founder of Islam, there's nothing wrong with that. There are many, many hundreds of millions of Muslims who are not fanatics, we know that. But why doesn't he just answer the question, and say, “Yes, I am a Christian, my father was a Muslim for a while, we lived in Indonesia, my grandfather was a Muslim for a while” -- I guess for a while, it's always been for a while, I -- but he has a record of associating with bagmen and criminals. See, what interests me more is, rather than Hussein, is his association with bagmen and criminals in Chicago, tons of money coming in out of the Middle East, he goes to the only radical black-only church -- that's right, a racist, radical, black-only church, he comes from a city with dirty politics, he supports radical Muslim groups, he's questionable about Israel. Why in the world would I not ask these questions about Barack Hussein Obama? Why not?

[...]

SAVAGE: So why is it therefore inappropriate to ask him whether Hussein is an issue or not? Let him just answer it.

CALLER: It's not --

SAVAGE: I don't understand it. I mean, if that was my middle name, and I was a moderate Christian who had a Muslim father, I would say that. I'd say, “That was the name I was given, and I'm proud of it.” Why is he hiding it?

CALLER: -- problem. It's not so much that's he's hiding it, it's so much that we were at war with Saddam Hussein, and that was the name --

SAVAGE: Oh, well, there you go again. That's why I'm asking you. Why is he named for Saddam Hussein -- I mean, the same name as Saddam Hussein?

[...]

SAVAGE: But it's not about his middle name that bothers me. Oh, no, there are many other things that bother me about O-soma. His record of associating with bagmen and criminals. His membership in a radical, black-only church. The fact that he has the worldwide support of every Muslim group. The fact that he's been endorsed by Louis Farrakhan, which I don't think he's disavowed, by the way. Doesn't that bother you? Now let me turn it around on you liberals who can't use your brains any more because you lost them a long time ago or you wouldn't be a liberal. What if John McCain's middle name was Jesus? Now, what if his name was John Jesus McCain, and the Democrat candidate said, “John Jesus McCain. Why is your middle name Jesus?” Do you think Hillary Clinton would say, “Absolutely unfair to ask to him why his middle name is Jesus. It has no reference whatsoever.” But what if John McCain's middle name was Jesus, John Jesus McCain? Would his middle name in that case be an issue? I think so. Why, I think even The New York Times might find John Jesus McCain an issue. I mean, that's if his name -- you see, I can think, and that's why I'm a danger to the establishment. I am the savage in Brave New World when I think about it.

[...]

SAVAGE: Well, we can close this hour out where we began hour number one, which is the issue of the Tennessee Grand Old Party pulling the Hussein Obama story and the Obama photo from the fiery anti-Semite release. Now, we understand that John McCain thinks it's politically incorrect to ask about Barack O-soma's middle name, Hussein, but I don't think it's irrelevant. And I raise the question of why should we not ask the question. After all, radical Islam has been at war with the West since the seventh century. If a would-be president of the United States has a Muslim first and a Muslim second name, surely we have an obligation, have a minor right, we have a duty to ask him, where does he stand on the issue of terrorism? Where does he stand on the issue of Israel? Where does he stand on the -- so many issues facing America today? Of course we have an obligation.

I'm not gonna listen to these slimebags telling me I have no right to ask the question. And I'll turn it around on you good liberals without brains. What if McCain's middle name was Jesus, John Jesus McCain? Would his middle name be an issue? Of course it would be. The liberals would go crazy. “You mean your middle-name is Jesus? Jesus? John Jesus McCain?” Ooohh, they'd go crazy. And they'd ask, you know, “Do you want to convert all of us to Christianity? What brand of Christian are you? Are you a fiery Christian? Are you a lapsed Christian, which is the only kind we accept in New York City? What kind of Christian are you?” they'd ask John Jesus McCain. So we have an obligation to ask him what he thinks about an endorsement of Obama by the Nation of Islam Jew-hater Louis Farrakhan. We have an obligation to ask Saddam -- I mean Obama Hussein Obama what he thinks about Farrakhan, who has called Judaism a gutter religion, why he has not disavowed his connections. Now, we hear that it is an untrue charge that he is a Muslim. Fair enough. But he has two Muslim names, so why are we not allowed to ask this question? Why? Why is it inappropriate? But those aren't the issues that really con -- you know, interest me at all. What interests me are the bigger issues about him. He is known as the most liberal of all the senators -- amongst very liberal senators in a very liberal Senate. The more I read about him and his actual policies, the more I become concerned about Mr. Obama.

[...]

SAVAGE: Is Hussein a Christian saint? We're hearing over and over again that we can't ask about his middle name Hussein, Barack Hussein Obama. And yet I've asked myself, if he's a Christian why does he have a name Hussein, and who is Hussein? Hussein is the grandson of Mohammed, nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with it at all. So what he should say is, “I'm proud of my middle name Hussein, I was named for Hussein by my father because Hussein is the grandson of Mohammed, and I'm proud of my Muslim heritage, and I'm a moderate Muslim and I totally oppose radical Islam. And I'll fight with all my heart to defeat the enemy. In fact, I might be able to fight better.” Why doesn't he say that? What is he hiding, and what are his handlers hiding, is the question. Don't you understand why this is an issue? I think it's a very important issue.