It seems to me that having a candidate surnamed Washington, Lincoln, or some other famous president could be a small advantage in presidential elections, at least as far as some swing voters or relatively ignorant/don’t-follow-politics voters are concerned. The appeal would be that “It would be cool to have another President Washington or President Lincoln”. Maybe win an extra 1-2% of swing voters?
(Assuming, of course, that the candidate is born with that name as opposed to changing the surname for political purposes; that would be cheating.)
Heh. The sample ballots our local board of elections uses to teach kids about democracy and voting list Washington, Lincoln and other long-gone heroes of the republic.
I don’t know how much of an advantage it would be unless the person was a direct descendant. It’s interesting that despite the fact that we complain about political dynasties thanks to Bush, Clinton, and Kennedy, that our oldest political dynasty still going last elected a President in 1960. The Roosevelts, by contrast, have pretty much disappeared from the political scene(although living members have real accomplishments of note, such as FDR III, an economist) and the Adams last sent their most famous representative to American Idol. Although before that, Thomas Adams tried to run for Congress as an opponent of the Vietnam war.
She never ran for president, but there used to be a U.S. senator from Arkansas named Blanche Lincoln. Her surname (which was her married name) wasn’t enough to win her a third term in 2010.
Well, maybe. That was Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith. His third wife had a baby, Timothy Lincoln Beckwith. He claimed that the kid wasn’t his, and he had had a vasectomy prior, told her to list the father as unknown, and offered to give her $7500, if she did. She said he was his son, so Robert filed for divorce on the grounds of adultery. She skipped the court proceeding that would have had the child take a blood test, so the court granted the divorce and declared that he wasn’t Beckwith’s son. But, who knows.
Theodore Roosevelt V is the great-great-grandson of Theodore Roosevelt. He is a board member of New York League of Conservation Voters so his choosing to run for office is not inconceivable. He is still under 40.
To me the oddest thing in Presidential descendants is that John Tyler our 10th President that died in 1862 has 2 living grandsons. I don’t think either one is likely to run for office this late in life though.
How about William Jefferson Clinton? Did his middle name make him sound more presidential?
I don’t think it would sway many people in a way that could be measured, but there could be a subtle effect that carries through the career of a politician eventually giving him some advantage in an election. One thing needed by a presidential candidate is a group of powerful people who believe in the candidate can become president. If a name adds to their confidence it will add to others’ directly or indirectly.
Anyone born with the name Washington or Lincoln is probably African-American, and probably one, unlike Obama, brought up in that culture and speaking with at least some trace of Ebonics. Which could be a problem.