Mastodawn

Doc Impossible Jul 23, 2024

A gentle reminder when talking about about the presumptive Democratic nominee for President, from someone who doesn't talk politics here:

Referring to someone by their last name is generally a sign of respect. Referring to someone by their first name is generally a sign of intimacy. Consider how people have referred, in short form, to other nominees and Presidents:

Bush, Clinton, Gore, Bush, Kerry, Obama, Romney, McCain, Biden, Trump

And then

Hillary and Kamala

See a pattern?

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bensomers Jul 24, 2024

@Impossible_PhD
I read a detailed discussion of this; your point is valid, but not the whole story. Often campaigns brand their candidate with their most "distinctive" name, e.g. Bernie or "Jeb!". Kamala Harris's is using both names fairly frequently. I do agree that using just the candidate's first name, if that's not their branding, is disrespectful.

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Jeff Shaffer CBET, ret

@bensomers
Not so much disrespectful, imo, as just ignorant. I’ve been referring to her as VP Harris & I’m glad I’m on the pc side, but it’s without an intentional effort. The argument that using a last name denotes respect is valid. I’ve supported lots of candidates, & most recently referred to them as Senator Warren and Bernie. But as you tooted, it must be okay if the candidate’s branding.

@Impossible_PhD