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I'm looking at Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, who have Cuban fathers each with a very simple short last name. The two candidates are Hispanic but their last names are very simple.
Would anyone with half a brain have any trouble with spelling or pronouncing any of the names of the possible 2016 presidential candidates? Even the ones who aren't WASPs have very simple last names.
Where are the Budzyński, Sciacchitano, Liljegren, Echevarria, Schwarzenegger, Bhattacharya, Matsush*ta, Kuznetsov, Abramczyk, Bronaugh, Quraishi, Aliaabaadi, Ngozichukwu, Billeaudeau presidential candidates?
This is America. We have a smorgasbord of ethnic backgrounds here. But...
Can every natural born citizen here really grow up to be president or does having a hard to pronounce longer last name make it impossible to be nominated or elected? Notice, I'm not opining that their ethnic background is a hindrance because if those names are short and easy to spell or pronounce, I don't think anyone would care.
What do you think? If you were the greatest thing (experience and positions) since sliced bread on the issues, plus are smart and attractive with a great personality, could you expect to be nominated for President if you had a long, hard to spell or pronounce, last name?
I'm looking at Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, who have Cuban fathers each with a very simple short last name. The two candidates are Hispanic but their last names are very simple.
Would anyone with half a brain have any trouble with spelling or pronouncing any of the names of the possible 2016 presidential candidates? Even the ones who aren't WASPs have very simple last names.
Where are the Budzyński, Sciacchitano, Liljegren, Echevarria, Schwarzenegger, Bhattacharya, Matsush*ta, Kuznetsov, Abramczyk, Bronaugh, Quraishi, Aliaabaadi, Ngozichukwu, Billeaudeau presidential candidates?
This is America. We have a smorgasbord of ethnic backgrounds here. But...
Can every natural born citizen here really grow up to be president or does having a hard to pronounce longer last name make it impossible to be nominated or elected? Notice, I'm not opining that their ethnic background is a hindrance because if those names are short and easy to spell or pronounce, I don't think anyone would care.
What do you think? If you were the greatest thing (experience and positions) since sliced bread on the issues, plus are smart and attractive with a great personality, could you expect to be nominated for President if you had a long, hard to spell or pronounce, last name?
Here in Illinois we elected, and then reelected, Rod Blagojevich as governor. I remember when he first came on the scene all the local newscasters had a lot of trouble saying his name. Within a few weeks everyone could pronounce it and it never was an issue. Now granted, he was a lousy governor--even as a Democrat I will admit that--but your question only concerns names, and whether a politician could be elected with a very difficult one.
I think the answer is yes, if they like and/or connect with the candidate. Who would have thought that a mere seven years after 9/11, while we were still mired in a war in the Middle East, Americans would elect a man with the name of Barack Hussein Obama as president? Hussein sounds distinctly Muslim and Obama is eerily close to Osama, and yet, they did elect him, twice. I don't think the name matters as much as you seem to think.
The name doesn't matter nearly as much as the person. A first name or a nickname can be the easiest way for a candidate with a name that's difficult to pronounce can win for the person until folks become familiar with how to pronounce it.
Zbigniew Brzezinski served two Presidents in prominent positions, and we all became to know him and how to pronounce is Polish name easily enough once he became a public figure.
Here in Illinois we elected, and then reelected, Rod Blagojevich as governor. I remember when he first came on the scene all the local newscasters had a lot of trouble saying his name. Within a few weeks everyone could pronounce it and it never was an issue. Now granted, he was a lousy governor--even as a Democrat I will admit that--but your question only concerns names, and whether a politician could be elected with a very difficult one.
I think the answer is yes, if they like and/or connect with the candidate. Who would have thought that a mere seven years after 9/11, while we were still mired in a war in the Middle East, Americans would elect a man with the name of Barack Hussein Obama as president? Hussein sounds distinctly Muslim and Obama is eerily close to Osama, and yet, they did elect him, twice. I don't think the name matters as much as you seem to think.
Indeed. If Barack (foreign sounding, in an imprecise way) Hussein (sounds like - and is - a widely-recognized Arabic name, in large part due to a rather notorious dictator against whom we fought a pair of recent wars) Obama (rhymes with Osama) can be elected President twice, then I think that almost all names are surmountable.
Good example with Blagojevich. One need not be able to spell the name, after all - they appear on ballots and one just checks a box. Another example is Raul Castro - no, not the current President of Cuba but the former Governor of Arizona, who was elected in 1977 when the Cold War was ongoing and chilly and the Cuban Missile Crisis was a lot fresher in our collective memories (Castro just died last week, BTW).
The name doesn't matter nearly as much as the person. A first name or a nickname can be the easiest way for a candidate with a name that's difficult to pronounce can win for the person until folks become familiar with how to pronounce it.
Zbigniew Brzezinski served two Presidents in prominent positions, and we all became to know him and how to pronounce is Polish name easily enough once he became a public figure.
Blago is a very good example but we're talking presidential nomination (Can you have a difficult ethnic sounding last name and still grow up to be President?) and as far as Barack Obama goes, his name is neither hard to pronounce or spell. Neither was McCain, Edwards, Gore, Nixon, Carter, Ford, Reagan, Mondale, Kerry, although Dukakis is leaning close.
Look at these names. You would think with so many possibilities there would be at least 25% with difficult long ethnic sounding names.
Clinton
Webb
O'Malley
Sanders
Cruz
Rubio
Christie
Bush
Paul
Perry
Jindal
Trump
Huckabee
Walker
Kasich
Graham
The hardest one may be Fiorina and I don't think she'll run.
Eisenhauer was def a long "ethnic" name. Too; many "ethnic" now "anglo" white people had their names changed to sound English or even Irish when they were coming through Ellis Island 100-150 years ago.
As I mentioned, everyone got used to his name soon enough. Yes, he was appointed. His example only goes to show an unusual name isn't a very big hurdle to overcome.
It's the IDEOLOGY of the candidate, not his/her name, that is the deciding factor.
I'd vote for a Democratic candidate with a long or ethnic name any day over a GOP Billy Bob, Jeb, Mitt, or Ada Mae.
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