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First-name-only strategy creates distance from the other Clinton
CanWest News Service via National Post ^ | 2007-03-02 | Sheldon Alberts

Posted on 03/02/2007 5:46:31 AM PST by Clive

WASHINGTON - In the beginning she was 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, Hillary Clinton has turned the tables on U.S. voters once again.

As she seeks to become the country's first female president, she 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 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 such entertainment icons as 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 the former first lady.

"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."

Presidential candidates have long had their own unique political brands --from "Honest Abe" Lincoln to Dwight D. (Ike) Eisenhower to FDR, JFK, LBJ and even George (Dubya) Bush.

Mrs. Clinton's main Democratic presidential rival, Barack Obama, has his own name-related problems, with commentators sometimes calling him "Osama." The Illinois Senator's middle name is Hussein, as in Saddam.

But no contemporary American politician -- let alone one seeking to break the White House gender barrier -- has ever struggled with a name like Hillary Clinton.

When Bill Clinton was governor of Arkansas, Hillary was a prominent lawyer known only by her maiden name. She used his surname during the 1992 White House campaign before adding Rodham after the election, both as a feminist statement and an attempt to change attitudes about the role of U.S. first ladies.

But Mrs. Clinton has never completely opted for, nor abandoned, one name or another. On her Senate Web site and in congressional correspondence she remains Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Her presidential campaign Web site, however, is Hillary Clinton.com.

When weighty issues demand more formal statements of policy, she 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.

"It gets magnified with Hillary Clinton -- she has always been this icon of post-feminist angst in American life."

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, Prof. Troy says.

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 Prof. 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 is the United States ready to accept the Oprah-fication of a major presidential candidate?

Linda Fowler, a political science professor 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," Prof. Fowler says.

"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."

"I understand 'Hillary' is a wonderful brand, and I think it would be a wonderful brand for almost anything except the office she is running for," Prof. Fowler says.

"Ronald Reagan was never 'Ronald.' Dwight Eisenhower was a man and a general. 'Ike' worked for him because that's what his soldiers called him. We had JFK and LBJ, but they were men and the use of initials has an authoritative ring to it. That's different for 'Hillary.' "


TOPICS: Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: hillabitch
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To: Clive
I am going to make up my own batch of posters:

Hilliary!

21 posted on 03/02/2007 6:20:00 AM PST by Mr. K (Some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don't help)
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To: Clive

"As she seeks to become the country's first female president, she wants to be known to supporters simply as "Hillary..."

Oooohhhh! Is that, like, you know, like, like Barbie?

Can we get a doll with matching outfits?


22 posted on 03/02/2007 6:20:04 AM PST by OpusatFR ( ALEA IACTA EST. We have just crossed the Rubicon.)
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To: joebuck
How about one from Edna St Vincent Millay:

Safe upon the solid rock the ugly houses stand:
Come and see my shining palace built upon the sand!

23 posted on 03/02/2007 6:24:45 AM PST by Clive
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To: Clive
"How about one from Edna St Vincent Millay:"

And I'll raise you a Shakespeare:

By the pricking of my thumbs
something wicked this way comes.

24 posted on 03/02/2007 6:36:17 AM PST by joebuck
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To: Clive
Billary.
25 posted on 03/02/2007 6:52:10 AM PST by b4its2late (Liberalism is a hollow log and a mental disorder.)
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To: Clive
Image hosted by Photobucket.com Hillery, the OTHER klintoon meat puppet...
Image hosted by Photobucket.com
LOOK... it's TouristSenator!!!
It shows up in more places than TouristGuy did,
only with less style... and substance.
she's Vaporware, just an empty crusty.
(Please spread me around like the parasite that i am...)
Image hosted by Photobucket.com

26 posted on 03/02/2007 6:52:54 AM PST by Chode (American Hedonist ©®)
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To: Clive
Duplicate of the earlier posted: Hillary campaigns on first-name basis (hey, works for SATAN, eh?)
All the CanWest papers ran the same article but, with somewhat different headlines.
27 posted on 03/02/2007 7:46:16 AM PST by GMMAC (Discover Canada governed by Conservatives: www.CanadianAlly.com)
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