For U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron, there’s no such thing as a velvet hammer when it comes to pounding fear into his political rhetoric.King has a penchant for drawing attention to himself and Iowans when it comes to espousing inflammatory rhetoric, and upon the heels of announcing his intention to run for another term in Congress Friday, King has found a way to splash his name in the national media.

King, who usually reserves his rhetorical wrath for illegal immigrants, has now set his sights on Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois. During an interview with a reporter in Spencer, Iowa, King predicted an Obama victory and his pledge to pull troops out of Iraq, his Kenyan heritage, and his middle name Hussein would inspire terrorists to dance in the streets.

“The radical Islamists, the al-Qaida … would be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on Sept. 11 because they would declare victory in this war on terror,” King said in the interview.

King assured that his comments were not meant to demean Obama but to warn how an Obama presidency would look to the world. `His middle name does matter,” King said. “It matters because they read a meaning into that.”

In criticizing King, Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor told the Associated Press, “These comments have no place in our politics.” He called on John McCain, the apparent Republican nominee, to “repudiate them like he has previous offensive comments from his supporters.”

Last month, McCain denounced an introduction from Cincinnati talk-show host Bill Cunningham, who referred to Obama three times as “Barack Hussein Obama.”

Regardless of whether King’s remarks are denounced by McCain, they will garner national attention, which King will relish as a means of building conservative support in Western Iowa.