12-11-2008, 04:11 PM
Ultimately, use of the middle name or a middle initial for a president will depend on how it sounds over time, kind of like how a common nickname for a common name works for some people and not others.
JFK, TDR, FDR, LBJ...nice.
But HST? RMN? JEC? BHO? No ring to it.
William Henry Harrison, Harry S Truman, that middle name was part of their brand.
Nobody cared about the HW in George Bush #1 until #2 came a long and we needed a way to distinguish them.
What was Ronald Reagan's middle name/intitial? I'd have to google it.
Barak Obama is unique in its own right. Were the H to stand for Hussein or Harry, I don't think it will gain much cachet in the long haul. Except by those who oppose him and are using it as a code word for "possible terrorist."
JFK, TDR, FDR, LBJ...nice.
But HST? RMN? JEC? BHO? No ring to it.
William Henry Harrison, Harry S Truman, that middle name was part of their brand.
Nobody cared about the HW in George Bush #1 until #2 came a long and we needed a way to distinguish them.
What was Ronald Reagan's middle name/intitial? I'd have to google it.
Barak Obama is unique in its own right. Were the H to stand for Hussein or Harry, I don't think it will gain much cachet in the long haul. Except by those who oppose him and are using it as a code word for "possible terrorist."