On A First Name Basis
It's a bit early to start thinking about the presidential race in 2008, but some folks are getting a head start. You have to admit it would make an interesting race. Did you notice people use first names for female candidates for president and last names for males? Perhaps it's just these two women, what do you think?
Posted by Enlighten-NewJersey @ 7:02 PM
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5 Comments:
Successful women operating at their level of politics are so rare, last names are not needed to distinguish them from the masses.
Kind of like Pele was in football.
What I wonder is, what do Dr. Rice's friends call her when they are alone?
Just seeing the one on the left (literally and figuratively) makes my hair hurt.
Why would one's hair hurt? On a similar note, the demogoguery that's thrown against Hillary Clinton is astounding. She is simply a Democratic senator. It's ironic that people refer to her as "ambitious" as if her 99 colleagues in the senate aren't.
On another note, if Rice wants to think seriously about a elected position, she needs to learn to how to convince people that she is speaking her opinion, and not simply acting as a spokewoman for the president, as she was in her senate confirmation.
-Jersey Perspective
Well, Hillary and Condi (and Pele) are distinctive names, sufficient to identify their subjects. In the last Presidential race, John vs. George would have been way too generic. It also would have been far too familiar - and that's a point well taken as regards the women candidates' first names. Therefore, does this use of first names reflect a subtle condescention on the part of the media (not that the public is immune) toward females seeking power? "Look at the women running for office. Isn't that cute?"
On the other hand, Senator Clinton's first name does work as a campaign theme song.
Footnote: I took a look at the two links. The sites handle this by switching back and forth between the familiar first name and the more formal appellations. Not a bad approach - briings the candidates to the people without ignoring their accomplishments. Maybe there's no condescention involved, just a good use of unusual first names.
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