McCain team disavows 'Hussein' references

BETHLEHEM - John McCain's presidential campaign has disavowed William Platt's references to "Barack Hussein Obama".

"We do not condone this inappropriate rhetoric which distracts from the real questions of judgment, character and experience that voters will base their decisions on this November," campaign spokesman Paul Lindsay said in a prepared statement.

Meanwhile, another band has complained about Mr McCain's unauthorised promotional use of their song.

The Foo Fighters ordered the Republican presidential candidate to stop using My Hero. "The saddest thing about this is that My Hero was written as a celebration of the common man and his extraordinary potential," the band said in a statement.

"To have it appropriated without our knowledge and used in a manner that perverts the original sentiment of the lyric just tarnishes the song."

John Mellencamp, Heart and Jackson Browne have also separately complained about the use of their material, while soul legend Sam Moore has asked the Obama campaign to stop using Soul Man. - ( Washington Post, AP )

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times