I'm finding that many pundits on various news programs call the President by his name rather than his title. To me it shows a lack of respect and seems an attempt to diminish him in some way. I don't recall noticing this with previous presidents and am wondering if there is a racial component to this. Thoughts?
Yes, you're completely right. Most of the time you probably just hear "Obama" or "Barack" instead of President Obama. When Bush was in office, I heard "President Bush" a lot. I would also say that Western society as a whole is just like America. You have to examine the white vote and see that Obama got around ~40% of it. That tells you that although Obama has won two terms, about ~40% of white America still has problems with him. Not all Romney voters are against the President, but a good deal of them are. Welcome to the site, by the way.
You make an interesting point fk...he's always referred to as president over here, obviously he has more respect here On another note, I've noticed that people do not refer to me as the queen outside of this forum which I find most disturbing, though my kids do call me the "law"
Yes and I can safely say there are subliminal, neurological impulses in this case. And I'm mainly referring to a sizable number of conservative minded individuals who think that "they are losing everything." The world is changing demographically and it's scarier than being murdered by point-blank range, according to these individuals.
I don't think there is any question about it, FK. I feel this president has dealt with an unprecedented number of acts of disrespect. Do you all remember a couple of years ago when that congressman shouted "You Lie!" during the State of the Union address? I was LIVID. I was taught that the State of the Union was just about the most important regular thing that a president did. That some supposedly distinguished man interrupted him during the actual address was unconscionable, and called for a censure, IMO. That's just one example I can think of off the top of my head. There were others.
I rarely if ever hear Obama called 'President Obama'. Unless it's a news anchor reading a report, then yes. But if it's a panel discussion about politics, it's like everyone is on a first name basis with the POTUS. I've never heard Presidents Reagan, Clinton, Dubya referred to by their first names as much as Obama is. Can you imagine someone saying, 'I wonder how much Ronald knew about Iran-Contra?'lol.:smt083
It may be a good thing....great branding and brand recognition. Obama's campaigns were a text book example of strategic marketing at its best and executed better than the best corporate marketing teams in America. He probably likes being called "Obama" instead of "the president" for brand awareness...he's a marketing machine. Got him 2 terms and and setting himself up for a great life after the white house. Hell, we maybe be buying Obama grills and blenders in 5 years
I think people will know who you're talking about if you call the POTUS 'President'. When is the last time someone didn't know the name of the POTUS, especially someone with an unusual name like Barack Obama? It's just weird. Even the oldheads on TV news commentators who are big on tradition and protocol rarely call him President Obama.
