A question for the Obama supporters .......

[Stinky The Clown]

Clinton has tried to use her first name as a brand ...... i.e.: Hillary08.

I am unaware of Obama doing the same. In fact, I am unaware of anyone officially associated with his campaign using his first name for any reason apart from normal usage of **anyone's** first name.

But I hear Chris Matthews refer to him almost exclusively by his first name. Not that there's anything wrong with his first name. It could be Eugene, for all it matters in this context.

Now, I noticed Matthews when this first name thing started. It was right after Matthews' trip to the corporate woodshed and his subsequent apology to Clinton for whatever crap he is supposed to have said about her. He had been calling her by her first name forever. So it seemed to me that, in an effort to be seen as fair, and rather than change how he referred to her, he would change how he referred to Obama.

And so, it seems only on Matthews' shows do we hear Obama more commonly referred to as "Barack".

I find that inappropriately familiar and I find it diminishing.

Clinton chose to use her first name as a Brand.

Obama did not.

How do you see this?

[Danger Mouse]

1. I figured that the use of Hillary was to distinguish herself from her husband...

but that's just how i see it.

[Stinky The Clown]

4. File this in the 'for what its worth' drawer ........

..... I made a similar post way back when abut the use in the media of her her name.

I was told with some stridency that I was being a jerk and that she **chooses* to use her first name much like Cher or Madonna.

So who knows ......

[Melinda]

2. "...*the* Obama supporters"?

When was Barack Obama reduced to being an object?

I'll get back to you on your OP once I've clarification, thanks.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Sparkly]

19. Depends on what the definition of "THE" is...

:shrug:

[Melinda]

25. My question was asked in good faith, and without the slightest bit of smarminess intended.

Please - check my posting history so you can see that I am not at all what you've assumed me to be, ie; I am not a nasty or mean spirited poster, and that I do not attack Clinton supporters, or supporters of other candidates, or other posters on DU, period. I sincerely did not understand what "the Obama" was intended to be, and so I asked for clarification.

I am sorry you were offended, but no offense was intended.

I bid you peace.

*edited to add the following: ..."supporters of other candidates, or other posters on DU,..."

[Stinky The Clown]

26. I have nothing further to say to you

What I said, even though it has been pulled, stands in spirit.

[Melinda]

28. Fair enough; I have no desire to interact with people who see demons where there are none, or

who demean others with hateful words and/or ugly diatribes. I fight everyday of my life just to continue living a few more days, a few more weeks - Dear Lord, just a few more months, please? - and I have no desire to shorten it by engaging in conflict.

Peace out.

[Catherine Vincent]

39. LOL!

That's a first. An Obama supporter offended by being referred to as an Obama supporter. :rofl:

[tishaLA]

3. I'm not bothered by it. In fact...

it might be good for Obama to be familiarized. We live in a nation, let's not forget, where someone like Obama is considered exotic, so being on a first name basis with him probably makes him unthreatening.

[Texas Hill Country]

5. i dont think about matthews much, so...

[gateley]

6. "How do you see this?"

As a non-issue.

Agree, it seems a little too familiar -- nobody called Clinton Bill or Bush George, but in the the big picture, no big deal. Because Hillary began using her first name as a brand, it's just probably a little easier to slip into the first name mode when referring to Obama, too.

For the most part I think the media refers to her as Clinton, though -- maybe it's a Matthews thing.

[DJ13]

8. Sidney? Sidney? oooops

:rofl:

Editited for stoopidity.

:spray:

[Stinky The Clown]

14. Its his middle name ... with an "i" .... Sidney

Would that it were his first name .... would that it were.

[DJ13]

16. Oh duh, I had a brain fart, thanks!

:blush:

:thumbsup:

[damonm]

9. How I see it is...

[bunnies]

10. DU calls him tweety.

Thus we have no room in which to lecture.

[rinsd]

13. We do not have quite the megaphone that Tweety does.

[bunnies]

15. True. I'll give you that.

Yet myself... I just dont see him as an ill-intentioned person. I think he genuinely loves all aspects of his job. I know I would.

[rinsd]

18. I do see him as ill-intentioned

My post downthread

I don't find it diminishing, as much as an attempt to reinforce the meme that Obama is some kind of strange foreigner.

Look at the tactics used thus far, we have the Manchurian Muslim & the he hates the pledge attacks on his patriotism. This is another link in that chain.

Let's put it this way, if his first name was Henry, Matthews would not be saying it.

Media Matters on Matthews (feel free to ignore the Clinton stuff and look how he portrays Dems vs GOPers)

http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/tags/chris_matthews

[bunnies]

22. Just so I understand...

Do you think he's anti-Dem in general? :shrug:

[rinsd]

23. Yes.

Even when he's complimenting Democrats its usually by slamming other Democrats.

[rinsd]

11. Its Tweety doing BS Tweety things.

I don't find it diminishing, as much as an attempt to reinforce the meme that Obama is some kind of strange foreigner.

Look at the tactics used thus far, we have the Manchurian Muslim & the he hates the pledge attacks on his patriotism. This is another link in that chain.

Let's put it this way, if his first name was Henry, Matthews would not be saying it.

[azmouse]

12. It's not a big deal.

Everyone will be calling him Mr President in Jan '09.

[newmajority]

17. Most political candidates run by their last name.

The exceptions usually are such, because someone else with that name has been in office recently. JFK ran for office as "Kennedy", but RFK was called "Bobby", and still is, 40 years after the fact. Teddy as well, for that matter.

Chimpy might have labeled his campaign signs as "Bush/Cheney" in 2000, but he used his middle initial informally, more than either his first or last name, both of which he shared with his daddy.

And the name "Clinton" still means Bill to most, while Hillary has been known as Hillary since 1992. Or before then, if you lived in Arkansas.

No other candidate named "Obama" has ever run for President, so "Obama" is what goes on the signs and the t-shirts.

When Michelle runs for office, we'll see what happens.... ;)

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

20. With respect to Obama using his last name...

I thought it was an interesting choice. I suspect it was primarily intended to eliminate the whole Obama/Osama thing by making the name Obama so familiar (and so particularly branded to the candidate) that it lost any connection to Mr. Cranky Pants:

[Pirate Smile]

21. I assume he does it to be consistent re calling both Dem candidates by their

first names.

It doesn't bother me.

[Sparkly]

24. Then he should call McCain "John." nt

[redqueen]

27. I see it as more false balance.

I don't know if it's familiar or diminishing, but that's probably just cause I think his first name sounds cool. :)

[Bensthename]

29. He has mentioned he thought having the name Barack was a political obstacle.

[zulchzulu]

30. It's simple. Clinton as a "brand" is radioactive for most people

The use of the brand "Hillary" was to do a dual purpose: try to get the woman's vote and get the name "Clinton" not on the radar if possible.

She didn't have her husband campaigning for her until it was seen as something that could help her. It didn't.

There are many reasons why that will be parsed for years by political junkies, but bringing her husband back into prominence on the campaign trail may have gotten some people happy, but it also reminded people of the Clinton Fatigue they had just a few years ago.

The default campaign brand is the candidate's last name. That's why Obama used his last name on most branding tools as well as the other candidates. Hillary Clinton used her first name to somehow try to get past the Bill Clinton presidency. I would suggest that she knew that Bill actually ruined it for her chances to be President or tried to swerve away from that eventual, inevitable course.

What was funny was how certain people thought it was "sexist" to refer to her as Hillary when in fact her own web site and campaign materials used her first name.

[Stinky The Clown]

36. I was one of them who thought it was sexist.

I see it differently now ...... and much the way you do.

[kdpeters]

31. Interesting. I call him Barack a lot because I like the name

But I'm not a professional journalist. Yeah, it might be inappropriately familiar and diminishing, but it's just Chris Matthews. It might be more insulting coming from someone more respected.

[stillcool]

32. I don't watch the talk shows...

but I see no reason why anyone should not refer to him using his first name.

[Skidmore]

33. I think Tweety just likes to name drop and imply associations

where none probably exist.

[Stinky The Clown]

37. There is certainly that

It feeds his unwell ego.

[anonymous171]

34. Many people are voting for Bill, not Hillary. So I call her Hillary Rodham now.

[MercutioATC]

35. Well, there are probably a few reasons...like these:

(and absolutely none of these mean anything more than exactly what they say)


OBAMA:

1) Barack is a name that a lot of people will misspell.

2) Politicians generally run using their last names.


CLINTON:

1) The use of "Hillary" distinguishes her from the "Bill" of the same last name.

2) Using her first name reinforces the fact that she's female.


All of these are smart marketing moves.

[Catherine Vincent]

38. In case no one else said it, I think he says it because he doesn't want to make

the mistake of saying "Osama" instead of "Obama".