Is it "President Obama" or "Mister Obama"?

[Tab]

Listening to NPR, both national NPR and their BBC feed, they often referred to "Mister Obama", occasionally tossing in a "President Obama", but "Mister" predominated probably four or five to one.

Bush was always "President Bush". I don't recall a "Mister Bush".

I think the preference is just to keep things to four or five syllables, and maybe that's all it is, but it struck me that Obama is "Mister Obama", but Bush was "President Bush".

Is it as simple as just making for a quick news report, or is there more going on here? Because Obama is sure as hell more presidential than Bush ever was in his life.

[Zywiec]

1. It's always Mister President, or President Obama n/t

[Tab]

5. On direct address, sure

but in a news report you don't refer to "Mister President", but Obama seems to get a lot of "Misters"s, whereas Bush only got "President".

It may just be a speaking convention, because Obama is three syllables compared to the one-syllable Bush, but it just struck me the more I listened to the news.

[gristy]

2. President Obama n/t

[Adelante]

3. It's always been both throughout American history nt

[DrToast]

4. I prefer...

President Badass

[Jennicut]

6. LOL! He is one BAMF!

[vaberella]

7. No ONE respects President Obama. I can't fuckin' stand it.

Damn MSNBC, you have these idiots keep calling President Obama---Obama or Mr. Obama. It shows how they feel, in my eyes, that he is not their President and so they don't owe him that respect. A good example is Michelle Bernard when she talks on MSNBC. Then you have some lousy guests on Morning Schmoe. But then you have CNN----it's like they all disrespect the President.

There are people here on DU who do the same shite. It boils the blood.

[Zenlitened]

12. Some jackass on CNBC referred to him as 'Barrack'

Guess he's on a first-name basis with the president.

Oh, or a right-wing hack masquerading as a finance expert.

Seriously, did you ever hear a president referenced as "George" or "Bill" or "Ron" by a talking-heads on a 'news' program??

Unreal.

[vaberella]

27. Completely. n/t

[Captain Hilts]

14. You refer to the president, as such, only in the first reference.

Standard practice going back at least as far as FDR. You use the full "President Obama/Roosevelt/Hoover/Carter" only once.

[vaberella]

26. Even if so..

If you watch the shows they don't even dignify him with the title once. If they had said it at least once, I would agree with you. But they don't. They do say "Obama". And why not just call him President---ie The President. Other times I've heard continuously that it's Mr. Obama. Like my Prof who struck me as odd when he was referring to the president as Mr. Obama and then he told me he was a libertarian and I don't think he is fond of the President if the class counts for anything...it's a bit frustrating.

[onenote]

42. delete dupe

[jbnow]

30. People need to be more careful on TV. I've never heard anyone

calling him Mister or Senator or just Obama without immediately correcting themselves. It would really bother me to hear it not corrected.

But I call him Obama and I really respect and really really like him. I like saying President Obama but that's just sort of a showing off feeling when I do it because it is so cool. Obama! Just fun to say or sing.

Still I am not on TV. If I was I'd train myself quickly to call him by his correct title. President Obama, sir.

[vaberella]

33. That's the thing I rarely see. More often than not they don't correct themselves.n/t

[Thrill]

8. Campbell Brown can't seem to make herself say President Obama

I'm sick of her Obama, Mr. Obama, Candidate Obama bullshit

[vaberella]

9. Campbell Brown needs to be taken off camera.

She's a clown of the first quarter...I'd believe she's Bill O'Reilly's neice. Her no bias no bs is pure bs. She started posting on how Muslims were demonized during the primaries. I was like twit you were the no.1 contributor to that idea and spreading that meme. You and CNN were always talking about how he has a Muslim name and how that might affect him. Then she goes on camera acting all high and mighty. I can't stand her.

[firedupdem]

20. I'm with you. Her biased bullshit show should be off the air. CNN

wonders why the ratings are low? It's because of right wing crap like her show. She is horrible.

[Tab]

31. I've seen CNN since the beginning

When they first opened, they were derided as CNN standing for "Chicken Noodle News" (seriously).

Then the first gulf war started, and they were the only place you could go for anything like 24-hour coverage (and they made the most of it).

Now we're back to Chicken Noodle News again.

[totodeinhere]

51. Nobody watches her anyway. Her ratings are totally pathetic. n/t

[mitchum]

29. Campbell Brown sucks neocon cock...literally!

[SoCalDem]

35. Poor Campbell..married to PeeWee

[MajPayne2]

41. No shit!

She's married to Master Bates?

:wow:

Oh, that fuck Dan Senor.

[Arkana]

10. It's President Barack ObAWESOME.

[jobycom]

11. I always felt like the were emphasizing "PRESIDENT Bush," especially early on

like they were trying to overcome objections.

There is a bit of a protocol, though, to use "Mister" after first referring to him as "President," especially when referring to the person rather than his official capacity. I think a lot of it is just to break up monotony. "President Obama visited a homeless shelter. The President is pushing for increased spending. Mister Obama chatted with a small child at the shelter..."

But yeah, there are times when it stands out more than others, like they aren't happy calling him "President."

And I think it is different for British sources. Seems like the said "Mister Bush" a lot, too.

[Captain Hilts]

13. First reference is to "President" Obama. Subsequent references to "Mister" Obama. nt

[Adelante]

15. I doubt Obama wants to be addressed differently from presidents who went before him

Some examples from the past:

Mr. Roosevelt Must Lead
http://www.thenation.com/doc/19330208/editors


MR. NIXON'S WAR
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/video/nixon_12.html#v307


Mr. Kennedy apparently was hit by the first of what witnesses believed were three shots.
http://starship.python.net/crew/manus/Presidents/jfk/jfkobit.html


Mr. Truman & the Shahinshah
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,856366,00.html

And so on.

Really, there is nothing disrespectful about the address of Mr. for an American president.

[Cha]

16. Serious? I'm quite sure it was

just plain ol fuckhead...maybe npr didn't get the memo.

And, there's no Mr Obama now..It's President Obama:patriot:

[Adelante]

17. You know, I think it does Obama a disservice

The custom of the country has always been to refer to a president as President, Mr. or Mr. President. I feel like it makes Obama out to be a victim to demand special treatment for him. I really don't think he would want that. He is nobody's victim.

(pet peeve)

[CTyankee]

52. I think he keeps the title when addressed, even when he is out of office.

When I see interviews with former presidents Ihear interviewees say "President Carter" and "President Clinton" when addressing them, altho they typically say "We will be interviewing former President Clinton..."

[nilram]

18. Wow

I noticed that too (on NPR) and I always thought that the form of address was always "Mr. President" or "President (last name)" as in this article,

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Business-Etiquette-2294/2008/12/Addressing-Mr-President.htm

But, if you look at the comments in this one, somebody asked (on 6/18/07) "Why do NPR reporters often refer to the sitting president as Mr. Bush (as in the case of reporting Mr Bush's recent trip to Albania)?" So it's not just President Obama.

http://www.ehow.com/how_11185_address-president.html

Shrug. It would be an interesting exercise to listen to NPR's All Things Considered (where I've heard this usage the most), at about 60 days into Bush's first term, and see if they were using "Mister" at that time. All the shows are online...

[OHdem10]

19. It is always Mr. President--even by his closest friends.

For Gosh sakes, Even Senators get called Senator So&So.
We do not Mr. Reid .

[Adelante]

21. To his face, that is true

But in reference, Mr. is often used as often as President. Every president I remember, about nine, I think, was referred to either as President or Mr. and Senators are referred to as Mr. or Mrs. all the time.

[Runcible Spoon]

22. God who cares.

What a waste of outrage.

[laugle]

24. Amen to that!

Wait until they start making up names for him, like they did with Hillary, Bill and Bush! Geez, all I care about, is him doing a good job!

This PC thing is getting silly.......

[HopeOverFear]

36. *smh*

[NancyG]

23. President Obama on the first instance, Mr Obama subsequently is proper. nt

[Speck Tater]

25. You're not going to like this but...

I distinctly remember wondering, at the time, why newscasters referred to the previous president as "Mr. Bush" so much more often than as "President Bush."

The fact is, we all suffer from the delusion that we are objective, when in fact, NOBODY is. Everything we think we hear is colored by our expectations, preconceptions, and attitudes.

There, I warned you you wouldn't like it.

Now waiting for the flamers to question my worth as a human being, and condemn me for insufficient party loyalty.

[Avalux]

28. NPR's explanation:

For a particular segment - they say "President Obama" initially then "Mr. Obama" subsequently during that segment. Not sure if the cable news channels follow the same rule, but this is what I heard from NPR. :hi:

[nilram]

37. yeah,

if you look at the comments on this page, somebody asked (on 6/18/07) "Why do NPR reporters often refer to the sitting president as Mr. Bush (as in the case of reporting Mr Bush's recent trip to Albania)?" So they've had this practice for a while.

http://www.ehow.com/how_11185_address-president.html

[akbacchus_BC]

32. It should be President Obama or Mr. President, period. The assholes

are trying to diminish him but we (President Obama's supporters) know better. Fuck them!

[rvablue]

53. They are not "being assholes." Universally accepted and used journalist style

dictates that the first reference is "President Obama" and following references in the same story are either "Mr. Obama" or "The President."

[LittleBlue]

34. Doesn't really matter. In Britain, the Prime Minister is usually referred to as "Mister"

I've seen most British writers refer to Mr Blair and Mr Brown. Unless there is a lack of respect intended, don't read one into it.

[William769]

38. from a American perspective.

Mr. President or President Obama.

[fujiyama]

39. Most articles I have read in the NYT have

addressed the president as "mister".

I see no problem with either, but I think a publication should be consistent with whichever form, regardless of the party. I'm not familiar with NPR, but I wouldn't expect a major change in convention there. On the other hand, I expect nothing but crass partisanship and pettiness with fake news/propaganda outlets like those owned by Murdoch (or cable news for that matter like CNN, CNBC, etc which are basically tools for RW propaganda as well).

[Ken Burch]

40. This suddenly gives me the image of an update of "In The Heat of The Night"

Where Our Prez turns to Bill-O or Rush and says "They Call me Mr. Obama!"

[onenote]

43. are we going to have the same silly thread every week for the next 8 years. Its standard practice

Has been for decades. And despite what some claim, it was standard practice during the chimpy years. In fact, KO was attacked by loons on the right for referring to bush as "Mr. Bush". THe loons on the right were wrong and those who are getting worked up about it here also are wrong. Educate yourself and chill out.

http://mediamatters.org/items/200610270017

[Adelante]

46. Word

The whole discussion is demeaning to the president.

[Political Heretic]

44. Pretty sure its Mr. President or President Obama, however I regularly hear overseas commentators

refer to "Mister x" (heard this with other presidents before Obama, and I don't think its a deliberate sign of anything.

[onenote]

49. as pointed out: Mr. President is used when directly communicating with the President

When referring to the President, the standard practice is to use "President the first time and then use "Mr. for subsequent references. The fact that the media is continuing this long standing practice (which despite the faulty memories of some here was indeed employed during the bush years) is not a sign of disrespect.

[TexasProgresive]

45. Standard practice which NPR follows is to

refer to the President as President X in the first mention and then Mr/Ms X afterwards.

This is probably true for other titles such as Secretary Clinton and then Ms. Clinton.

Wingnuts got onto NPR about similar treatment of B*sh - no disrespect is meant.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

47. Mister is perfectly proper, particularly after 'president' has been used once.

If you think of other titles it makes more sense.

"Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors Ben Bernanke called for better economic stuff today. In his remarks to the Big Economic Meeting Mister Bernake sought to..."

There is no disrespect in it.

Adding "mister" is itself formal and respectful, versus just saying "Obama."

Language is ultimately intended to communicate efficiently. If everyone knows who the president is or, inversely, what office Barack Obama holds then the repetition of his title is the stuff of religion and royalty, not democracy.

[ruggerson]

48. It's usually President once and then Mister

and they did the same thing with Bush.

[azmouse]

50. Both titles are equally acceptable.

[applegrove]

54. I agree. When * was president they wanted him called Mr. Bush to keep up

his folksy personna. But with Obama it has always been President Obama to my recollection.

[QC]

55. This is the silliest bit of poutrage to come down the pike in a while. n/t