# Paul Ryan is "Bowhunter" **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 4, 2012, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-is-bowhunter/633657 "2012-09-04T17:34:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-is-bowhunter/633657/21 "2012-09-05T00:26:25Z")
> [@](#): > > What if they are protecting two Michelles? Which is quite plausible, when you consider that one of the Republican primary presidential candidates did indeed bear that name. And of course that’s without even considering more common names like “John”. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-is-bowhunter/633657/22 "2012-09-05T12:17:41Z")
And over the radio, say you’re calling Clinton “Bill”, it could sound like “Will” who is maybe somebody else, or even “Hill” or what have you. Plus, it totally sounds cooler. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-is-bowhunter/633657/23 "2012-09-05T12:35:59Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I had two in the Foreign Service: “Hammer” in Mali and “Jackal” in Uganda. Both self-chosen. Man, I’d love to be able to pull off the nickname “Hammer”. I think if I asked the Secret Service to call me that, they’d be too busy laughing to be on the lookout for assassins. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-is-bowhunter/633657/24 "2012-09-05T12:42:57Z")
Personally, I’d like my SS name to be “Macho”. Or maybe “Spartacus”. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-is-bowhunter/633657/25 "2012-09-05T12:47:37Z")
“Javelin” and “Bowhunter”? Overcompensate much? (Though neither is as bad as Todd Palin’s “Driller”.) ---
**Author:** ![Abortion\_Fanatic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/76d3ee/32.png) [@Abortion\_Fanatic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abortion_Fanatic)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-is-bowhunter/633657/26 "2012-09-05T15:39:37Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Ryan’s wife is “Buttercup” :rolleyes: Buttercup would maybe be acceptable for a White House kid. But a grown woman? That’s just embarassing. Though if Ryan had gone with DreadPirate, then it’d be completely awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-is-bowhunter/633657/27 "2012-09-05T15:49:23Z")
The Secret Service is going to want everyone to have a distinctive code name so there won’t be any confusion over the radio. Let’s say they refer to Barack Obama as “Obama” - what happens when the First Lady is around? If they announce “Obama is going outside” over the radio, are they talking about the President or First Lady? If they call him the President, what happens when President Obama is meeting at Camp David with President Hollande? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-is-bowhunter/633657/28 "2012-09-05T15:55:48Z")
> [@Abortion\_Fanatic](#): > > :rolleyes: > > Buttercup would maybe be acceptable for a White House kid. But a grown woman? That’s just embarassing. [Ever see “HMS Pinafore”?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxKONsXdfEw) ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-is-bowhunter/633657/29 "2012-09-05T16:30:43Z")
Remember Al Gore? He admitted to being so dull his secret service code name was “Al Gore”. ---
**Author:** ![cordylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@cordylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cordylus)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-is-bowhunter/633657/30 "2012-09-05T16:37:31Z")
Now I totally want to run for office so I can pick the least manly codename ever. “Air Force One, SNUGGLER is preparing to board.” “All units, PUSSYWILLOW is on the move.” ---
**Author:** ![Whiteknight](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whiteknight/32/4962_2.png) [@Whiteknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiteknight)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-is-bowhunter/633657/31 "2012-09-05T16:58:46Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The Obamas are fixated on the letter “R”, with Barack as Renegade, Michelle as Renaissance, and the daughters as Radiance and Rosebud. > > McCain was Phoenix, and Palin was Denali. I believe it’s standard to everyone within a family share the same first letter. [Wiki link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Service_codename#Presidents_of_the_United_States_and_their_families) ---
**Author:** ![Abortion\_Fanatic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/76d3ee/32.png) [@Abortion\_Fanatic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abortion_Fanatic)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-is-bowhunter/633657/32 "2012-09-05T17:24:32Z")
> [@Whiteknight](#): > > I believe it’s standard to everyone within a family share the same first letter. > [Wiki link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Service_codename#Presidents_of_the_United_States_and_their_families) Thanks for the neat link. “Karenna Gore - Smurfette”? Wonder if she picked that one? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-is-bowhunter/633657/33 "2012-09-05T17:53:56Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > Man, I’d love to be able to pull off the nickname “Hammer”. I think if I asked the Secret Service to call me that, they’d be too busy laughing to be on the lookout for assassins. I was the Facilities Manager, so it sorta fit. I also picked my wife’s call sign. She was the Finance Officer, so I chose “Moneypenny”. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-is-bowhunter/633657/34 "2012-09-05T19:00:46Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Personally, I’d like my SS name to be “Macho”. Or maybe “Spartacus”. Goddamn it, I thought we’d established that **I** am Spartacus! ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-is-bowhunter/633657/35 "2012-09-05T19:09:00Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > That’s his self-selected Secret Service code-name. > > From the same piece: > Ryan’s wife is “Buttercup” > Romney is “Javelin” > The Obamas are fixated on the letter “R”, with Barack as Renegade, Michelle as Renaissance, and the daughters as Radiance and Rosebud. > McCain was Phoenix, and Palin was Denali. Fitting that Palin’s was an anagram of “Denial.” Ryan should have been “Marathon Man.” ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-is-bowhunter/633657/36 "2012-09-06T15:04:03Z")
> [@Bill Door](#): > > Remember Al Gore? He admitted to being so dull his secret service code name was “Al Gore”. Wouldn’t an appropriate code name have been “Al Gore ithm”? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-is-bowhunter/633657/37 "2012-09-06T15:27:28Z")
I’d go for CTHULHU, myself - _that_ would strike fear into the hearts of men. “CTHULHU is on board Air Force One!” ETA: Or, for much the same effect, MARMITE. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-is-bowhunter/633657/38 "2012-09-06T15:34:22Z")
> [@gamerunknown](#): > > Wouldn’t an appropriate code name have been “Al Gore ithm”? No, the Al Gore Rhythms were the name of his jazz band. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-is-bowhunter/633657/39 "2012-09-06T17:17:29Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > No, the Al Gore Rhythms were the name of his jazz band. How about “Al Gore TROUT” ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-is-bowhunter/633657/40 "2012-09-06T17:43:25Z")
> [@gamerunknown](#): > > Wouldn’t an appropriate code name have been “Al Gore ithm”? Al Gore music, Al Gore my gal, who could ask for anything more? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-is-bowhunter/633657.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-is-bowhunter/633657.md?page=3)