# T H Barack Obama **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 28, 2016, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/t-h-barack-obama/755897 "2016-05-28T17:31:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![llyn.glas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7feea3/32.png) [@llyn.glas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/llyn.glas)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/t-h-barack-obama/755897/1 "2016-05-28T17:31:16Z")
I have seen “T H Barack Obama” used in a number of state visits, most recently to Japan. [http://i.ndtvimg.com/i/2016-05/obama-abe-hiroshima-afp-1\_650x400\_61464341233.jpg](http://i.ndtvimg.com/i/2016-05/obama-abe-hiroshima-afp-1_650x400_61464341233.jpg) What does the T. H. stand for? Was wondering if some republican version of HRH. “Top Honcho” maybe, but does not seem to have enough gravitas. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/t-h-barack-obama/755897/2 "2016-05-28T17:34:11Z")
“The Honorable” ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/t-h-barack-obama/755897/3 "2016-05-28T21:48:41Z")
In many countries, presidents are “His/Her Excellency”, but Americans have generally thought that was too close to HRH for comfort in a good republic. Most legislators and state governors are Honorables, so it doesn’t spark paranoia in one’s political opponents. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/t-h-barack-obama/755897/4 "2016-05-28T21:54:40Z")
IIRC the Gov of Virginia is an “Excellency” , I supose it figures it would be Virginia. But yes, it’s The Honorable Barack H. Obama, PotUS. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/t-h-barack-obama/755897/5 "2016-05-28T22:05:46Z")
> **[Excellency](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excellency)** > > Excellency is an honorific style given to certain high-level officers of a sovereign state, officials of an international organization, or members of an aristocracy. Once entitled to the title "Excellency", the holder usually retains the right to that courtesy throughout their lifetime, although in some cases the title is attached to a particular office and is held only during tenure of that office. > Generally people addressed as Excellency are heads of state, heads of government, governors, am... > [@](#): > > In the United States, the form Excellency was commonly used for George Washington during his service as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and later during his presidency, but it began to fall out of use with his successor, and today has been replaced in direct address with the simple Mr. President or The Honorable. However, in many foreign countries and in United Nations protocol the President of the United States is usually referred to as His Excellency. Diplomatic correspondence to President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War, as during the Trent Affair, for instance, frequently referred to him as His Excellency. > > In several of the former Thirteen Colonies, the form Excellency is used for the governor. These include Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Virginia. West Virginia likewise adopted the title His/Her Excellency from its parent state. The term is used frequently in Georgia on the state governor’s letterhead, the text of executive orders, any document that requires the governor’s signature, and in formal settings. Excellency is used frequently when introducing the Governor of Pennsylvania, the Governor of Virginia, and the Governor of North Carolina at formal events. The Governor of Michigan is traditionally afforded the courtesy title, though it has fallen out of use in recent years.[13] > > Other governors are sometimes addressed as Excellency at public events. This is a traditional practice that is not at all incorrect, but it is less common, and is the product of custom and courtesy rather than of legislation. > > Though ambassadors are traditionally accorded the title elsewhere, the U.S. government does not use Excellency for its chiefs of missions, preferring Honorable instead. > **[John Adams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Adams)** > > John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of the American Revolution that achieved independence from Great Britain. During the latter part of the Revolutionary War and in the early years of the new nation, he served the U.S. government as a senior diplomat in Europe. Adams was the first person to hold t... > [@](#): > > At the start of Washington’s administration, Adams became deeply involved in a month-long Senate controversy over the official title of the President. Adams favored grandiose titles derived from British Crown tradition, such as “His Majesty the President” or “His High Mightiness, the President of the United States and Protector of Their Liberties.” Jefferson described Adams’ proposed titles as “superlatively ridiculous.”[59] The plain “President of the United States” eventually won the debate. The perceived pomposity of his stance, along with his being overweight, led to Adams earning the nickname “His Rotundity.”[68]