Ha ha! I just saw a BBC article on the Secret Service code names that were given to the Obama family - Barack is "Renegade," Michelle is "Renaissance," and the girls are "Rosebud" and "Radiance." All awesome names.
That led me to this article on NNDB which discloses lots of Secret Service code names over the years. Here are some of the highlights:
Jimmy Carter - "Deacon"
Ronald Reagan - "Rawhide"
George HW Bush - "Timberwolf" (badass!!)
Bill Clinton - "Eagle"
Hillary Clinton - "Evergreen"
Chelsea Clinton - "Energy"
George W Bush - "Tumbler"
Dick Cheney - "Angler"
Henry Kissinger - "Woodcutter"
Alexander Haig - "Claw Hammer" (also badass!!)
John McCain - "Phoenix"
Cindy McCain - "Parasol"
Sarah Palin - "Denali"
Todd Palin - "Driller"
I think it's kinda cool how the code names often pretty well match the personality of the person they are given to.
But I wonder - it's all well and fine if you get a badass code name like "Scarab" or "Stonecrusher"... but what if you get stuck with something stupid or pathetic like "Snapperhead" or "E Coli"? Can you go to the Secret Service and tell them you want a new one?
Remember on the West Wing when CJ Craig, the tall gangly press secretary, flipped out when she found out her code name was "Flamingo"?
But I was happy to hear that Obama's code name was "Renegade" - it brought me back to that Fatboy Slim track from like 1995... Back once again for the Renegade Master, D4 damager, power to the people!!! Man, I spent a lotta long nights in San Francisco dancing to that track...
Posted by case at November 14, 2008 07:42 PM