# What warships will be named after Clinton, Bush and Obama? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 2, 2016, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-warships-will-be-named-after-clinton-bush-and-obama/741985 "2016-01-02T07:33:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2016, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-warships-will-be-named-after-clinton-bush-and-obama/741985/21 "2016-01-03T15:57:11Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Ford is actually getting his own class of carriers. Bob Hope has [his own class of vehicle cargo ships](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Hope-class_vehicle_cargo_ship). And the previously mentioned [USNS Bob Hope](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USNS_Bob_Hope_%28T-AKR-300%29) was launched while he was still alive. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-warships-will-be-named-after-clinton-bush-and-obama/741985/22 "2016-01-04T15:06:12Z")
One of my favorite federal government stories involves [the Susitna](http://www.alaskajournal.com/business-and-finance/2012-08-02/mat-su-officials-ponder-ferrys-fate#.VoqJRfkrLBQ), a prototype naval assault vessel with a deck that can be raised and lowered, double armored hulls, and the ability to plough through ice. The Navy built it at a cost of eighty million dollars, then discovered that they didn’t have any use for it. They simply gave it away to a small Alaskan town that wanted to use it as a ferry, because who wouldn’t want to be ferried on a naval assault vessel? The Alaskan down then discovered that they didn’t have any dock which their new naval assault vessel could load or unload passengers. The cost of keeping the ship in storage is an additional $700,000 per year, on top of the $80,000,000 price tag for building it. It should be renamed after Bush or Obama, since it showcases the functioning of government in our era so well. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-warships-will-be-named-after-clinton-bush-and-obama/741985/23 "2016-01-04T15:24:00Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > What warships will be named after Clinton, Bush and Obama? > > All aircraft carriers, you think? USS George H.W. Bush departs for 2nd Deployment [http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story\_id=79116](http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=79116) Welcome to the Official Web page of USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH (CVN 77) [http://www.public.navy.mil/airfor/cvn77/Pages/USS%20GEORGE%20H.W.%20BUSH%20(CVN%2077).aspx](http://www.public.navy.mil/airfor/cvn77/Pages/USS%20GEORGE%20H.W.%20BUSH%20(CVN%2077).aspx) ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-warships-will-be-named-after-clinton-bush-and-obama/741985/24 "2016-01-04T15:30:36Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Laundry ships? The USS Walter Mondale. ---
**Author:** ![davida03801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@davida03801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davida03801)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-warships-will-be-named-after-clinton-bush-and-obama/741985/25 "2016-01-04T15:59:21Z")
Submarine for Clinton, as he likes the thought of someone going down ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-warships-will-be-named-after-clinton-bush-and-obama/741985/26 "2016-01-04T16:11:30Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > Heh. It’s not as clear as all that, really…or as clear as I thought. :smack: It’s important to bear in mind that every POTUS has “an association with the Navy,” as they all serve as Commander in Chief. > [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > We have a destroyer named after a British prime minister with a Royal Navy officer permanently attached to it. > > [USS Winston S. Churchill - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Winston_S._Churchill) Nitpick: Churchill was never a Royal Navy officer. He was a Lieutenant Colonel in the army, and though he did serve as First Lord of the Admiralty that was a political appointment rather than a commission; it was like being Secretary of Defense. He was also named an honorary US citizen in 1965. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-warships-will-be-named-after-clinton-bush-and-obama/741985/27 "2016-01-04T17:41:17Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > USS George H.W. Bush departs for 2nd Deployment > [http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story\_id=79116](http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=79116) > > Welcome to the Official Web page of USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH (CVN 77) > [http://www.public.navy.mil/airfor/cvn77/Pages/USS%20GEORGE%20H.W.%20BUSH%20(CVN%2077).aspx](http://www.public.navy.mil/airfor/cvn77/Pages/USS%20GEORGE%20H.W.%20BUSH%20(CVN%2077).aspx) I mean Bush Jr., of course. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2016, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-warships-will-be-named-after-clinton-bush-and-obama/741985/28 "2016-02-11T19:14:41Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > …[Churchill] was also named an honorary US citizen in 1965. Nitpick, it was 1963, by JFK: [Honorary Citizen of the United States - International Churchill Society](http://www.winstonchurchill.org/resources/speeches/235-1946-1963-elder-statesman/125-united-states-citizen). There was a small display about it at Blenheim, ancestral home of the Churchills, when I last visited there. He was too ill to attend the ceremony, so his son and grandson went in his stead: [http://archive2.jfklibrary.org/JFKWHP/1963/Month%2004/Day%2009/JFKWHP-1963-04-09-D/JFKWHP-AR7813-G.jpg](http://archive2.jfklibrary.org/JFKWHP/1963/Month%2004/Day%2009/JFKWHP-1963-04-09-D/JFKWHP-AR7813-G.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2016, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-warships-will-be-named-after-clinton-bush-and-obama/741985/29 "2016-02-11T23:13:28Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > You shouldn’t ever name something after someone who’s still alive (yes, I know that the Cult of Reagan didn’t follow this rule). Clinton, Bush, and Obama probably all have a couple of decades yet on them or so. By that time, we might not even be using carriers. Hijack\ I would be genuinely surprised if Bill Clinton has another couple of decades in him. / Hijack over. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-warships-will-be-named-after-clinton-bush-and-obama/741985/30 "2016-02-12T02:08:27Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > Dubya should have a hospital ship named after him. > > “Mission: Accomplished” No, something fast. The U.S.S. _Now Watch This Drive_ ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-warships-will-be-named-after-clinton-bush-and-obama/741985/31 "2016-02-12T04:06:00Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > You shouldn’t ever name something after someone who’s still alive Seems to me that it makes sense \*to \*name something after someone who’s still alive, when they’re still alive to see it. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-warships-will-be-named-after-clinton-bush-and-obama/741985/32 "2016-02-12T05:42:36Z")
Just as a data point, Congressman John Lewis, noted civil rights leader (still alive, still in office, never served in the Navy) is [getting a ship named after him](http://www.navytimes.com/story/military/2016/01/07/next-generation-navy-ship-named-after-civil-rights-leader-rep-john-lewis/78400870/). It is a replenishment oiler. In fact, since it is the first of a new class of oilers, the whole class will be called the [John Lewis class](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Navy_oiler#John_Lewis_class). ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-warships-will-be-named-after-clinton-bush-and-obama/741985/33 "2016-02-12T05:45:09Z")
Also, rather appropriately, Condoleezza Rice had a [Chevron supertanker](http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Chevron-redubs-ship-named-for-Bush-aide-2922481.php) named after her, but not for very long. ---
**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:** [February 12, 2016, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-warships-will-be-named-after-clinton-bush-and-obama/741985/34 "2016-02-12T13:45:37Z")
For the healthcare law, Obama should get a hospital ship. Maybe a submarine for Clinton- you can’t see it doing its work nor appreciate it much but we’re fortunate to have had it. Bush should get a garbage scow. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-warships-will-be-named-after-clinton-bush-and-obama/741985/35 "2016-02-12T14:38:12Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Bush should get a garbage scow. Let me rephrase that, laddie. The G.W. Bush shouldn’t be hauling garbage. It should be hauled away AS garbage. Ha ha ha ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-warships-will-be-named-after-clinton-bush-and-obama/741985/36 "2016-02-12T23:28:57Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Seems to me that it makes sense \*to \*name something after someone who’s still alive, when they’re still alive to see it. No, because you never know what dastardly deeds they’ll go on to do. Could end up being embarrassing. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2016, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-warships-will-be-named-after-clinton-bush-and-obama/741985/37 "2016-02-13T02:23:15Z")
I personally support the old ten-year rule that the Postal Service used to have for stamps. If some VIP’s reputation is still intact ten years after he or she dies, it’s a safe bet to put the person on a stamp. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2016, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-warships-will-be-named-after-clinton-bush-and-obama/741985/38 "2016-02-13T06:44:06Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > USS Bill Clinton (CVN-81) would serve during a time of unprecedented peace and prosperity, but will likely have a number of controversies surrounding the behavior of the officers and crew. > > USS George W Bush (CVN-82) will be plagued with frequent maintenance problems and cost overruns, and will eventually blunder into the longest war in US history. > > The USS Barack Obama (CVN-83) will ultimately replace the George W Bush, inheriting many of it’s broken systems and faulty parts. While it won’t “win” the wars started by it’s predecessor, it will slowly be able to fight them to enough of a standstill that most people can forget about them. The Admiral who takes command of this ship can expect to spend most of his time arguing with the other captains of his battlegroup over everything from which direction they should sail in to which shipyard the parts on the Obama actually came from. The USS Donald Trump will have a flight deck of solid gold. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2016, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-warships-will-be-named-after-clinton-bush-and-obama/741985/39 "2016-02-13T15:24:14Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I personally support the old ten-year rule that the Postal Service used to have for stamps. If some VIP’s reputation is still intact ten years after he or she dies, it’s a safe bet to put the person on a stamp. On a side note, that was proof positive that Elvis was dead. They would not have put him on a stamp if he had still been alive. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2016, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-warships-will-be-named-after-clinton-bush-and-obama/741985/40 "2016-02-13T15:59:17Z")
I’m waiting to see what the USS _Robert S. MacNamara_ will be like. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-warships-will-be-named-after-clinton-bush-and-obama/741985.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-warships-will-be-named-after-clinton-bush-and-obama/741985.md?page=3)