Managing Monikers: The Role of Name Presentation in the 2008 Presidential Election

Abstract

Given America's widespread contempt for Islamic extremists, Obama's Muslim‐sounding moniker could have cost him electoral support. Consequently, anecdotal evidence suggests that Obama played a “name game” in which he deflected suspicions about his religious background by avoiding use of his middle name (Hussein) and minimizing the frequency with which his opponents used it. Did the presentation of Obama's name affect how voters evaluated him? Results from a web‐based experiment suggest that the answer varies by political orientation. Among Republicans and conservatives, Obama's favorability ratings are generally lower when his middle name is present. Name presentation had little effect on Democrats and liberals, and moderates and independents rated the president more favorably when his middle name appeared. Regardless of party identification or political ideology, name presentation had no effect on the probability of voting for Obama.

Making America Exceptional Again: Donald Trump's Traditionalist Jeremiad, Civil Religion, and the Politics of Resentment

“…A number of studies have demonstrated the influence of symbolic racism on political attitudes (Kinder and Sanders 1996; Sears et al 1999; Kinder and Mendelberg 2000; Rabinowitz et al 2009) and support for Republican presidential candidates (Tesler and Sears 2010; Kinder and Dale-Riddle 2012). Symbolic racism has also been shown to have a negative effect on support for Barack Obama (Block and Onwunli 2010; Lewis-Beck, Tien, and Nadeau 2010; Piston 2010) and a positive effect on support for Donald Trump (Luttig, Federico, and Lavine 2017; Hooghe and Dassonneville 2018; Major, Blodorn, and Major Blascovich 2018; Schaffner, Macwilllams, and Nteta 2018; Setzler and Yanus 2018).…”

Explaining the Trump Vote: The Effect of Racist Resentment and Anti-Immigrant Sentiments

“…This negative attitude toward outsider groups, therefore, could have a significant effect on protest voting. Previous research has shown that racist resentment remains an important voting motive, which had a negative effect on support for Barack Obama in 2008 (Block and Onwunli 2010; Piston 2010). The virulent attacks that Trump directed against “Mexican immigrants” during the campaign are an interesting development.…”

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