Born Hillary Diane Rodham.
In the beginning it was Hillary Rodham of Arkansas.
After moving to the White House, first it was Mrs. William J. Clinton.
Later it became Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Then it was Hillary Clinton.
More recently, it's been Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Now, as she tries to become the nation's first female president, she wants to be known to supporters simply as Hillary.
According to CanWest News Service, this is an attempt to cash in on her celebrity and differentiate "Hillary" from Bill:
The first-name-only strategy is being viewed as an attempt by Clinton to develop a national political persona independent of her husband, the former president, while also elevating her to equal status alongside mononymic entertainment icons such as Oprah, Madonna and Bono."There are very few people in our popular culture universe who are defined by one name -- Cher, Oprah, Madonna. If you are up in that stratosphere, like Hillary Clinton is, why not play to your strength and exploit that for all its worth?"
There must be a huge investment in polling and focus group crap behind this informalization Nevertheless, it all seems a little too Prince-like for me.
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