PING!
Posted on 03/01/2007 5:33:59 PM PST by GMMAC
Hillary campaigns on first-name basis
From first lady to senator to presidential candidate, Hillary is now using a one-name brand.
Sheldon Alberts, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Thursday, March 01, 2007
In the beginning, she was just Hillary Rodham of Arkansas. In the White House, she became Hillary Rodham Clinton. Then, it was Hillary Clinton and, lately, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.
But just when it seemed her political identity crisis was finally over, Mrs. Clinton has turned the tables on American voters once again. As she seeks to become the country's first female president, the senator wants to be known to supporters simply as 'Hillary' -- no married name or maiden name necessary.
Any reference to Clinton, or Rodham, is absent from the New York senator's official campaign biography, except in direct reference to her husband, Bill, or her father, Hugh.
"Hillary was raised in a middle-class family in the middle of America," begins the biography, followed by more than three dozen other first-name-only references to the Democratic candidate.
There are separate appeals to join 'Hillary's Team' and a news release on a visit to New Hampshire that begins "What Granite Staters are Saying about Hillary's Trip."
The first-name-only strategy is being viewed as an attempt by Mrs. Clinton to develop a national political persona independent of her husband, the former president, while also elevating her to equal status alongside mononymic entertainment icons like Oprah, Madonna and Bono.
"There are very few people in our popular culture universe who are defined by one name -- Cher, Oprah, Madonna. If you are up in that stratosphere, like Hillary Clinton is, why not play to your strength and exploit that for all it's worth," says Gil Troy, a McGill University history professor and author of a biography on Mrs. Clinton.
"I think it emphasizes the fact that -- let's not kid ourselves -- hers has been a celebrity candidacy from the start. She is very much cashing in her celebrity chips and running."
American presidential candidates have long had their unique political brands -- from 'Honest Abe' Lincoln to Dwight D. (Ike) Eisenhower, to FDR, JFK, LBJ and even George (Dubya) Bush.
But no contemporary American politician -- let alone one seeking to break the White House gender barrier -- has ever struggled with their name like Hillary Clinton. When Bill Clinton was governor of Arkansas, Hillary was a prominent lawyer known only by her maiden name. She used the Clinton surname during the 1992 White House campaign before adding Rodham after the election, both as a feminist statement and an attempt to change traditional attitudes about the role of American first ladies.
But Mrs. Clinton has never completely opted for, or abandoned, one name or another. On her Senate website, and in congressional correspondence, she remains Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Her presidential campaign website, however, is HillaryClinton.com.
When weighty issues demand more formal statements of policy, the presidential candidate supplements "Hillary" with Clinton.
"It speaks to a post-feminism dilemma that a lot of women have -- what is the nature of your identity?" says Trevor Parry-Giles, a communications professor at the University of Maryland and author of several books on U.S. presidential politics.
The decision to de-emphasize "Rodham" in her presidential campaign may be aimed at distancing herself from "feminist baggage" that might alienate her from some voters in middle America, says Mr. Troy. Mrs. Clinton faces a tougher dilemma dealing with her married name.
"It's a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you would be hard pressed to find a more popular ex-president these days than Bill Clinton," says Mr. Parry-Giles. "On the other hand, there are lingering questions and concerns that many people have about him. This name thing with Hillary is a symbolic wrestling with that." But are Americans ready to accept the Oprah-fication of a major presidential candidate?
Linda Fowler, a political scientist at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, isn't sure.
"Going by 'Hillary' is a way of distancing herself from the connection to the former president -- that she is a person in her own right," says Ms. Fowler.
"But at the same time, I personally think 'Hillary' works better for someone running for Congress than someone running for president. I think it doesn't have enough gravitas."
© The Ottawa Citizen 2007
That's 'Gravol', and we're going to need a case of it before it's all over.
PING!
First name basis, let's see...Adolf, evil, Karl, arrogant, unqualified, scandalous, hater, socialist, corrupt....yes, those "first names" all fit.
Gravitas is that which makes an object seek to reach the lowest point. I am sorry, that is gravity. What was I thinking about?
"Shagrat" works perfectly:
No doubt in my military mind that this woman deserves "branding." :)
How do you say BRUJA in english? Hitlery
What other famous females branded themselves with one name only?
Madonna?
Cher?
Sounds like Hitlery is keeping herself in good company!
That is not quite correct. She became "Hillary Clinton" while in Arkansas to help her husband get reelected. This was based on advice she received that the local folks did not 'cotton to no northern liberal types'.
This was probably not the first time she put 'ego/greed/lust for power' ahead of principles for the sake of goals desired.
God help us if Hitlery is elected.
That's not going to happen, unless the Republicans run a total loon, or conservatives fall for the 1992 Ross Perot strategy.
OPRAH...I forgot Oprah.... lol
Carpetbagger Hill'.
Sooner or later,,,
I like the names we call her here MUCH better. Names like Hildabeest, Cankles, PIAPS and Shrillary describe her to a T.
Can't forget Jane, Tarzans woman.
Or Jane, Hanoi.
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