Could Someone Explain the Etymology of '*'

[oostevo]

I feel stupid asking this, but can someone explain what "*" means?

I realize that it represents Bush, but could someone please explain why we replace Bush with an asterisk?

[leyton]

1. I think it's supposed to mean

that Bush is a footnote in history. Or something to that effect; I don't really care for the symbol myself.

[oostevo]

2. Not that I'm disputing your response,

But wouldn't it be Bush*, then? Or Bush^1?

[RC]

6. People are lazy, so they shorten

george walker bu$h, pResident of the United States of America to just *

Works for me.

[DUreader]

16. Close but no cigar

[phaseolus]

3. the way I remembered it...

...the DUer who first proposed this was referring to the way that baseball record books sometimes put an asterisk by numbers that aren't comparable to others, for various reasons. Using it to refer to Bush is a reminder that he didn't "win" the election in the normal way.

[ochazuke]

9. That's what I heard

I asked the same question several days ago and got the answer that it comes from the world of sports statistics, in which an asterisk means that the statistic is in dispute.

I believe it since I'm ignorant of sports trivia.

[Must_B_Free]

10. I always thought it was because we didn't want to see his name

that was my recollection, but there are alot of good reasons I guess... I just recall before * it was "dubya" and everyone was sick of typing that.

[DUreader]

17. Almost, but not quite

[Cleita]

4. I believe it's from Doonsbury or his representation of

Bush.

[shanti]

18. doonesbury

that was where it came from.

[DUreader]

19. Incorrect

[William Seger]

5. It's to denote that he wasn't really elected

... like, a listing of the Presidents should have an asterisk after Bush's name, with a footnote that explains he really lost. It comes from the convention in sports record listings to put an asterisk after someone's name if they broke a record after a major rule change, such as the number of games per season.

[carpetbagger]

7. He didn't actually win the election at the polls.

And thus he is only the president because his campaign co-chair did not allow for the counting of perfectly executed votes (no chads, no nothing, just like a crisp new dollar bill spit out by the coke machine), until Bush's cronies on the US Supreme Court (two of whom had family members working for Bush at the time, and two of whom would see their children appointed to Bush's administration) decided that the votes could be counted, but that it was too late to standardize the system that Bush's campaign co-chair would not allow to be standardized.

[brainshrub]

8. * looks like an anus.

I know that's not the official reason...but it's my favorite.

[TahitiNut]

11. 33,700 results from Googling "Bush" and "asterisk"

Read

[Benhurst]

12. One of the four honest Supreme Court Justices (sorry, I can't

remember which one) said there would always be a * after the Shrub's last name (I assume linked to a footnote explaining he had not been elected.)

[ochazuke]

13. That sounds familiar

Maybe it was Justice Breyer who said that. I tried the Google search and found this:

http://www.pacificsites.com/~lakenews/bush.shtml

[DUreader]

15. Correct! Amazing How Many Don't Know!

[chefgirl]

14. A Link

The first time I read about it was here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/02/06/29_asterisk.html

-chef-

[DUreader]

20. Even That Omits The Quote Of Origin From The Bush v Gore

Dissenting Opinion