"Osama" Makes NY Ballot

A little oopsie or on purpose?

It could have been Ovama or Ofama. Or even Olama. But with one "s" the Rensselaer County Board of Elections turned a single wrong letter into a national embarrassment Friday. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's last name is spelled "Osama" on some 300 absentee ballots mailed out this week to voters in Rensselaer County hilltowns. Is it a Freudian slip, intentional gaffe or a mistake? Voters are sure to have opinions, and one politician pointed out that the letters "s" and "b" are not exactly keyboard neighbors. "Of all the letters to hit by mistake," County Democratic Chairman Tom Wade said. "Unfortunately it is a mistake which negatively impacts our Democratic candidate for president."