US Presidential Campaign 2012: 'Tis the Season for Silly Names

There is a period in the Presidential electoral cycle when battle is not officially joined and the journalists run out of things to say. It usually starts in early December and lasts until the seminal event of the New Year, the Iowa Caucus, when a state holds power and sway totally out of proportion to its size. Iowa is then followed by the first primary, held in New Hampshire, the “Live Free or Die” state where retail-shopping politics rules. Thus is the way of the Presidential Election world.

In this lull, let me put forth a theory that success or failure in presidential elections is not wholly determined by policy, good looks and gaffes. I think it has much to do with given names too. 

To begin with, the country voted for solid names like George, John, Thomas, and the like, but the 7th President was named Quincy. After him the USA has had a Van (as in Van Buren), Zachary, Millard, Abraham, Ulysses, Rutherford, Chester, Grover, Theodore, Woodrow, Warren, Calvin, S (as in Harry S Truman --- yes, the S stood for nothing but S), and Dwight.

Don’t tell me Americans are not attracted to the quirky in their politics.

Altogether, the United States has had 43 Presidents. (Yes, Obama is called the 44th but, for quiz nerds, Grover Cleveland was both Number 22 and 24.) Of the 43, almost half --- 17 to be exact --- have had unusual given names.

The theory of the quirky will probably be upheld by the 2012 election. At the moment, Barack Obama has no serious Democratic challenger, and with this month's fall in unemployment, he may be looking at an economy in better shape than expected.

For the Republicans, now Herman (Cain has dropped out of sight, the front runners are Willard (known better as Mitt) Romney and Newt (short for Newton) Gingrich. If one of them takes the nomination at the 2012 Republican Convention.... I rest my case.

Given the current state of American politics and the preference of politicians to dumb down and disengage, I guess voting for a given name seems as good a reason as any other. I only wish that, God rest his soul, Screaming Lord Sutch had been an opportunity in the USA.....