Talk:2393: Presidential Middle Names

2020-12-03T18:23:11Z

Easwaran:

I wonder where Hussein comes in in the official rankings. [[User:Orion205|Orion205]] ([[User talk:Orion205|talk]]) 04:16, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

Gamaliel sounds like an Elvish name...[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.128|108.162.216.128]] 05:03, 3 December 2020 (UTC)
: No, it's a {{w|Gamaliel_Ratsey|highwayman}}. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.24|162.158.155.24]] 10:54, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

: I would assume his parents were thinking about someone a bit nicer. Perhaps {{w|Gamaliel|Raban Gamaliel}}, a famous Jewish sage, major contributor to the Talmud and Christian saint (in some churches). [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 13:57, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

For the record, this was his paternal grandmother's maiden name. [[User:RAGBRAIvet|RAGBRAIvet]] ([[User talk:RAGBRAIvet|talk]]) 09:18, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

My understanding of the title text is that Hayes was previously in 3rd position, but has been demoted to 4th and no longer appears in the top 3, not that he is at the bottom of the list.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.243|141.101.99.243]] 09:39, 3 December 2020 (UTC)
:The title text literally says "The bottom of the list". How can you read that as not meaning "the bottom of the list"??? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.69.153|141.101.69.153]] 10:44, 3 December 2020 (UTC)
::Though I don't read it as this, you ''could'' take it as two separate statements:
::"The bottom of the list remains unchanged." <- there has been no shuffling at the 'worst' end.
::"Poor Rutherford Birchard Hayes." <- alas! For he has been shuffled out of the top three!
::Looking at the entire list of middle names with an arbitrary eye for 'Prettiness', I would definitely put "Birchard" in the bottom half, probably bottom handful, possibly indeed the bottom slot. But then I'd do much the same for "Fitzgerald" too. (That's on a 'prettiest' scale that is pleasant/ugly, not a decorative/plain axis, just so you know. And does contain subjectivities like Werty22's interpretation of "Delano".) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.155|162.158.158.155]] 14:27, 3 December 2020 (UTC)
:::The list also literally only includes the top three, so my initial interpretation of the title text was that Hayes was previously in the 2nd position but is now off the list... perhaps due to a re-evaluation of the 'prettiness' of "Birchard". This would leave the bottom of the list (i.e. No. 3) unchanged.

I think someone needs to do a survey; maybe run a bracket or something, to see if public opinion matches Randall's list. [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 11:33, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

Anyone anything meaningful to add? I think we can remove the incomplete-tag, no? [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 12:21, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

I just wanted to say that Delano in Spanish sounds like "del ano" which means "from the anus". Not sure that was intended, but it's pretty funny. [[User:Werty22|Werty22]] ([[User talk:Werty22|talk]]) 13:00, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

Does anyone else think Randall's jumping the gun a bit? I mean, I acknowledge that President-Elect Biden becoming President next month is by far more likely than any other scenario, but it still feels wrong to assume it's going to happen. (Also, I believe "Quincy", "Ulysses", and "Baines" should round out the current top five.) [[User:Mathmannix|Mathmannix]] ([[User talk:Mathmannix|talk]]) 13:55, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

I figured it was important to add Harry Truman, since he does in fact have a middle name, even though it is only one letter long. [[User:Easwaran|Easwaran]] ([[User talk:Easwaran|talk]]) 18:23, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

2393: Presidential Middle Names

2020-12-03T18:20:43Z

Easwaran:

{{comic
| number = 2393
| date = December 2, 2020
| title = Presidential Middle Names
| image = presidential_middle_names.png
| titletext = The bottom of the list remains unchanged. Poor Rutherford Birchard Hayes.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by RICHARD MILHOUS NIXON, WITHOUT THE E. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A list of what Randall perceives will be the prettiest presidential middle names after the inauguration on January 20, 2021. {{w|Joe Biden|Joe Robinette Biden}} (46th president-elect) will take the second slot bumping previous second-place holder {{w|Franklin D. Roosevelt|Franklin Delano Roosevelt}}, the 32nd president, back to third. {{w|Warren G. Harding|Warren Gamaliel Harding}}, the 29th president, remains in first. Robinette is Biden's [https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2008/08/joe_bidens_middle_name_is_robi.html grandmother's maiden name].

The title text announces that {{w|Rutherford B. Hayes|Rutherford Birchard Hayes}}, the 19th president, remains at or near the bottom. Overall, the ranking would not include every president, as many early presidents, such as {{w|George Washington}} and {{w|John Adams}} lacked middle names. Some presidents were also more commonly known by their middle names as opposed to their first names; examples include Hiram {{w|Ulysses Grant}}, Stephen {{w|Grover Cleveland}}, and Thomas {{w|Woodrow Wilson}}. It is unclear how Randall’s list would deal with these cases.

The humour is based around the misuse of an abstract descriptive subjective variable (prettiness) as an ordinal discrete variable scale.

==List of Presidents with middle names==
{| class="wikitable"
|+ (Ordered by middle name)
| Chester ALAN Arthur
|-
|Lyndon BAINES Johnson
|-
|Rutherford BIRCHARD Hayes
|-
|John CALVIN Coolidge
|-
|Herbert CLARK Hoover
|-
|Dwight DAVID Eisenhower
|-
|Franklin DELANO Roosevelt
|-
|James EARL Carter
|-
|John FITZGERALD Kennedy
|-
|Warren GAMALIEL Harding
|-
|Stephen GROVER Cleveland
|-
|William HENRY Harrison
|-
|George HERBERT WALKER Bush
|-
|William HOWARD Taft
|-
|Barack HUSSEIN Obama
|-
|William JEFFERSON Clinton
|-
|Donald JOHN Trump
|-
|James KNOX Polk
|-
|Richard MILHOUS Nixon
|-
|John QUINCY Adams
|-
|Gerald RUDOLPH Ford
|-
|Harrison S Truman
|-
|Hiram ULYSSES Grant
|-
|George WALKER Bush
|-
|Ronald WILSON Reagan
|-
|Thomas WOODROW Wilson
|}

==Transcript==
:<big>Prettiest</big>
:Presidential Middle Names Official Rankings
:(Updated for 2021)

# Gamaliel (Warren Harding)
#<span style="color:red">Robinette (Joe Biden) '''(NEW!)'''</span>
#Delano (Franklin Roosevelt)<br>

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring politicians]]

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Talk:2393: Presidential Middle Names

2393: Presidential Middle Names