Tecumseh: I agree with you in principle. But suppose, just suppose, that an American family named their child "Adolf Hitler." And suppose that the parents weren't arrested for that--I'm not sure if the 1st amendment would protect them.
Tell me you wouldn't have a problem voting for "Adolf Hitler" for US president? Even if that man, in a parallel universe, were named "Ron Paul"? Most people would. And it's not because they're racist morons; it's the way the brain is wired. Some associations are powerful. In recent decades, immense resources have been spent building the "Hussein = Hitler" association in our minds. The association is not as strong, but it's mighty strong nonetheless. For example, I was surprised to learn that Obama wasn't a Muslim--even though there was no basis for supposing he was or wasn't, except the name. Coulter always refers to him by his full name precisely to evoke that association.
But it's not stupidity; it's a survival trait. If we weren't wired that way, we'd have gone extinct long ago, when our cavemen ancestors all said, "Only a speciesist moron would assume that ALL lions were killers..."
--Len.