Why is Hilary Clinton the only Democrat routinely referred to...

[BlooInBloo]

... by her first name, rather than her last, like essentially EVERY OTHER politician?

I think it's a sign of disrespect, thought I can't for the life of me figure out why DUers would be disrespectful in just this way...

[liberal N proud]

1. Because the name Hillary implies everything there is about her.

Good or bad.
She is Hillary and that is all she needs.

[unblock]

2. well, it does distinguish her from a certain OTHER clinton....

[BlooInBloo]

11. bonk!

.... we still call bush "bush", despite the fact that there are a jillion of them, and numerous other multiple-name people by their last names. And yet Clinton is always "Hilary"...

[eallen]

21. You mean Dubya?

As opposed to Jeb?

:hippie:

[oasis]

41. Hillary. H-I-double "l" A-R-Y. (n/t)

[oldcoot]

26. What is wrong with Senator Clinton?

After all, calling "Senator Clinton" would also distinguish her from her husband.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

3. That's what she ran as in her campaign. Hillary!

The only thing missing was the (R) after her name.

[MuseRider]

8. LOL. n/t

[Pastiche423]

30. gmao

[mzteris]

4. maybe because when you say

CLINTON, they think of Bill Clinton (as he was in the public eye first.)

[Greyhound]

5. I refer to her as Clinton all the time.

Of course I think she's a disaster waiting to be inflicted on us so maybe you wouldn't appreciate my choice of reference.

[BlooInBloo]

13. That's ok....

... I'm not especially excited for OR against her... it's just the basic respect issue I care about... at least as much respect as everyone else gets....

[Greyhound]

25. I agree with that, the whole diminution of women thing really get under

my skin too. My problem with her is the way she so cavalierly sold out the already beleaguered IT workers in her state and everywhere, in direct exchange for big campaign contributions from the most egregious visa abuser in this country, Tata.

[flyingfysh]

6. because there are 2 important Clintons

People would generally have to stop and think whether a reference is to Bill Clinton or Hilary Clinton. Including the first name immediately removes the ambiguity.

[Retrograde]

7. it is generally disrespectful

and it is not uncommonly used wrt women to diminish their status.

OTOH, context is everything: on DU I think it's more commonly used to distinguish Senator Clinton from President Clinton. It could also be taken as a sign of affection.

[BlooInBloo]

12. No, I think on DU it's the diminutive that's intended...

... we still call bush "bush", despite the fact that there are numerous of them...

I think in particular those who don't like her pull the "Hilary" business... Funny how they don't do that with men they don't like... You never hear "Russ", or "Joe", or whatever... Even in their dislike of Biden or whoever, they still maintain the fundamental respect of using their last name...

[Leopolds Ghost]

44. Disagree. In the US there is a naming convention w/ Presidents.

In general you don't need to refer to their title, just their last name. This goes back to "Washington" (not His Majesty, not "Mr. Washington", not "George").

Therefore "Clinton" in a headline implies the one who was President, i.e. her husband.

Not Senator Clinton (the correct headline reference for Hillary).

The fact that we are entering a dynastic era does not mean editors and publishers should change this time-honored tradition just to keep up with the transition to 2nd-world feudal democracy.

If DU'ers wanted to be condescending they would be overly formal and use the term "Senator Clinton" which is generally the case (unless quoting an article or headline). "Clinton" alone implies the recent President, just like "Roosevelt" alone is always used to refer to either one of the President Roosevelts (depending on context to identify which one) and "Carter" alone, etc. Folks don't generally deserve this moniker unless they are currently running for the high office or have been President.

Kerry was not known as "Kerry" before running for office and is not generally known as "Kerry" after he "lost", either. Again, "Senator Kerry" or "Sen. Kerry" is the usual appelation, since he has never been a sitting president. Nobody outside of Massachusetts would have called him "Kerry" in 2000. I have a similar issue with people calling Ted Kennedy "Kennedy", an appelation properly reserved for the one who was President, if you use this approach.

[Mythsaje]

9. It's for brevity and convenience...

We can't just type "Clinton" because then we'd have to say which one. "Hillary" covers it.

[FlemingsGhost]

10. Maybe because quite a few DUers don't actually respect her?

Imagine that ..

[BlooInBloo]

14. Touche!

(pronounced in good Bill&Ted style "toosh" - lol)

[Disturbed]

17. Nancy, Barbara, Dianne, etc.

Most politicians that are not referred to routinely with their fist names. Don't a lot of people say Condi? We instantly recognize that name but not most others.

[oldcoot]

27. There are many male politicians I do not respect

but I generally do not refer to them by their first names.

[Texacrat]

46. And those same DUers want to see a Republican in the White House

Since they are so adamant as not to vote for her if she gets the nomination.

[Hippo_Tron]

47. Lieberman gets referred to by his first name a lot

[bee]

15. First ladies are always called by their first names.

Its not disrespectful, its just how people know her.

[SaveElmer]

16. I don't know...I do it out of affection actually...

Like alot of sports heroes are referred to by their first name...

Being a TWins fan when you say "Kirby" everyone knew who you meant..

I never really thought of it as disrespectful.

[dorkulon]

18. It's obviously to distinguish her from Bill.

There are just too many instances when writing just "Clinton" is too ambiguous for the context. If you wrote "Bush" to refer to Jeb or George H.W., you would be misunderstood. I think it's that simple.

[Stephanie]

19. It's her own marketing. She chose it herself, used it in her campaign.

[Stephanie]

20. Here, look at her own website. That's what she chooses to call herself.

Geez Louise some people are defensive about Hillary.

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/

[BlooInBloo]

23. I think the first name appellation was chosen BEFORE....

... she embraced it...

Thanks for the link, but it doesn't settle my opinion one way or the other.

And I don't have strong feelings one way or the other about her.

[Stephanie]

48. You have not evidfence for that.

Your statement is not true. She ran as "Hillary" in 2000. She chose it herself. I won't do any more research for you since you're determined to believe what you want to believe regardless of the facts.

[SmokingJacket]

22. Because she's a woman.

I hate the way Rumsfeld is Rummy (or Rumsferatu!), but Rice is Condi. Bugs me.

[BlooInBloo]

28. Good 2nd example - thx!

[valerief]

24. The press uses all their willpower to keep from calling her *the missus*

[flpoljunkie]

29. Her PAC is called "Friends of Hillary."

[yurbud]

36. maybe they should follow Southern custom and call her "Miss Hillary"

[Peanutcat]

31. Because she's a gurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrl . . . . .

[lpbk2713]

32. It's a fairly unique and distinctive name ....... Like Oprah.

If someone says "Oprah" you know exactly who they are talking about.

[pitohui]

33. there are two well-known politicians named clinton

i'm sure if you think abt it for a minute, you'll be able to figure it out

no disrespect is intended, accuracy is intended

[yurbud]

34. It is more precise than Clinton, which could also be her husband

[yurbud]

35. Do you still call people "Mr. So and So" in your personal life?

In most business settings, that seems to be reserved for someone a few steps above you in the food chain, and in personal settings, reserved for those old enough to remember when that was the custom.

If you mean we should call her Sen. Clinton, I think we should retire honorifics of all kinds.

She is theoretically an elected public servant. The public should address her politely, but as a peer at best.

For others in Congress, our respect should be earned, not given as a blanket.

I have almost awe for the courage of John Conyers, Cynthia McKinney, and the members of the Black Congressional Caucus who stood up for our democracy after the 2000 and 2004 elections. They have more than earned my respect if I were to meet them in person. Most of the rest of them deserve to be addressed as you would a neighbor who let his dog shit in your yard.

[Minnesota Libra]

37. People don't like that Senator Hillary Clinton has learned the.....

.....main rule governing all politics. KNOW WHEN TO BACK OFF SO YOU CAN COME BACK AND FIGHT ANOTHER DAY.

She has obviously been knocked down a few times, mostly thanks to her husband but she's always gotten up and gone right back to fight again. It's one thing to learn the rules the Big Boys set up. It's quite another matter to use those rules to beat the BIG BOYS in their on back yard and she's learned to kick their asses doing it too.

THAT RIGHT THERE is what people don't like about her. They will use the fact they she caved in on this issue or on that issue but the bottom line is she knows the rules and she uses them to her advantage.

[bumblebee1]

45. As I always say to my husband,

Hillary Clinton is the type of woman who puts the fear of God into a certain kind of man.

[Mitt Chovick]

38. Some people are so big (famous) they only need one name, Like Cher,

Maddonna, Bono, Hillary, etc.

[Cleita]

39. It distinguishes her from Bill Clinton. When you talk of Clinton

people think of Bill. I don't think it's meant to be disrespectful unless it's one of the blowhard RW media dicks sneering her name out. Then you can hear the disrespect by the tone they use in their voices.

[oasis]

40. Hill is tops with me. (n/t)

[Solo_in_MD]

42. She chose that approach

So it is not disrespectful

[Laelth]

43. Don't know if you've ever gotten a letter from ...

... her office, but her return address name is Hillary. She doesn't use Rodham or Clinton on the outsides of her official correspondence. Her campaign signs say "Hillary" ... period ... nothing more.

Disrespect? Far from it. There are very few people in the world who are known by just one name, and it's a sign of global (or at least national) recognition. Elvis, Oprah, Rosanne ... being known by just your first name means you have star power. It's not a bad thing. It's a very good thing.

-Laelth