(no subject)

[eirias]

Reading Obama's memoir, you learn that as a kid he was called Barry. As a young adult he reverted to using his full name. That's not all that striking; a lot of young people change their self-presentation in this way. But I think it is a fairly striking choice for anyone with political ambitions. I think a lot of people would have switched back to the more "American" (more on that in a later post, I hope) -sounding name on entering Harvard. Obama's success with the other route is a reminder, I think, that squashing your identity is no way to get elected.

Comments

Re: McCain's identity

[cynic51.livejournal.com]

I respected the old McCain at one point. Then I read the Rolling Stone piece on him (http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/23316912/makebelieve_maverick/print). And just like that he went from a candidate who I disagreed with on many issues to a man who practically nauseates me.