If an entomologist were given the following characteristics--diverse in appearance, attaches to a host, easily overlooked, thousands of different species, benefits at the expense of the host, reduces the well-being of the host, exploits the host for food, habitat, and profit--then asked to classify the organism, the term “parasite” would be his/her immediate answer. But unbeknownst to the entomologist, the characteristics given to analyze were the characteristics of Barack Obama's Auntie Zeituni, parasite, or in non-entomological terms, a welfare queen.
