I'll take "JFK" for $500...

In My Humble Opinion
1

Since I have little to do between crises at work, I have a lot of time to think of things like this.

Since about the turn of the last century, we’ve had an intermittent habit in the U.S. of referring to our presidents by their initials: TR, FDR, Ike (okay, not exactly initials), JFK, LBJ. Then it suddenly stopped. We had no RMN, no GF, no JC (that would not have worked out so well, I guess), no RR…you get the drift.

So what happened? Why the initials in the first place? Was this common before Teddy Roosevelt? Did people call our first president ol’ GW? Why did it stop?

Is it because the (now) intrusive nature of investigative reporting has increased our loathing of politicians to the extent that we would just as soon refer to them with expletives rather than familiarly?

Is this a reflection of the social isolation that has become more prevalent in the U.S.?

2

Well, if they’re already called “Jimmy” or “Bill” (not to mention “Tricky Dick,” initials seem a bit unnecessary.

I have actually seen GWB quite often.

3

Simple. It is due to typesetting of headlines.

The abbreviations were used because the President’s names were long and took up too much space in headlines. Look at the names that have been abbreviated:

Roosevelt
Eisenhower
Kennedy
Johnson

Then there was

Nixon
Ford
Carter
Reagan
Bush
Clinton
Bush

Reagan, the longest of these (in newspaper terms, Clinton is a shorter name – measure it against Reagan above) is still shorter than Kennedy, the shortest of the other. Newspapers got out of the habit.

Prior to Roosevelt, newspapers didn’t try to shorten the name; it was considered disrespectful. The NY Times was one of the last to go along with the trend (if they ever did); they had a special headline slug made for “Eisenhower” so they could use it.

4

RC got it. This is also the subject of an official column somewhere.

5

GWB always confuses me. I think it means “George Washington Bridge.”

I’ll stick with Dubya (which is longer than Bush, but is shorter than Bush, Sr.)

6

The NY Times had a policy (which I think they dropped ony a few years ago) of always referring to men with Mr. in front of the name. (even calling Meatloaf Mr. Loaf). This of course, lengthens the name even more, so The Times may have been instrumental in the use of initials.