I took at look at Mitt Romney's 1040 today and while I didn't glean anything surprising about his income or taxes, I did discover one thing: his first name is Willard. I'm sure many readers already knew this, but I admit that I didn't. This made me wonder whether he'll be listed as Willard Mitt Romney on some state ballots. I recall back in 1992, Bill Clinton had to make peace with being William Jefferson Clinton in selected states, despite his preference for being listed by his popular name Bill. And I wouldn't be surprised if James Earl Carter - who ran as Jimmy - had a similar challenge in states unwilling to list him under his widely recognized nickname.
Presumably, most Mitt-o-philes will recognize Willard as their man. Bill and Jimmy seemed to survive the confusion (at least three out of four times). And Willard has the added benefit of having his more familiar middle name on the ballot.
I'm still not sure why he avoids using the name he shares with hotel founder John Willard Marriott - after whom he was named. At least he wasn't named after this Willard.
Maybe the reason he does not use his first name is that he does not like it as much as his second name. It is not uncommon for people to go by--as we say in the south--their middle names. My grandfather and my father-in-law went by their middle names. I'm surprised that his first name did not come up in any of the stories you've read about him over the past couple of years. It has very definitely been out there. You are right. His supporters are likely to recognize him on the ballot.
Posted by: AGR | September 23, 2012 at 09:19 AM
Jimmy Carter had to sue in Maine to be listed as"jimmy" as this clip from Antique Roadshow explains: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/archive/200601A30.html
Posted by: supremecourtjester | September 24, 2012 at 07:36 PM