Who's the Renegade running the White House? Obama gets his codename

Published on Thursday 13 November 2008 19:04

THEY are the codenames whispered into the sleeves of men with dark shades and loaded guns who may have to lay down their lives for the Trailblazer or Renegade.

The Secret Service, the US government agency charged with protecting the president, has revealed the names for the president-elect, Barack Obama – Renegade – and his family.

They must all begin with the same letter and consist of a specified number of syllables. The future first lady is known as Renaissance and the couple's two daughters, Sasha and Malia, are known respectively as Rosebud and Radiance.

Both children's monikers are more sophisticated than the one chosen by the daughter of Al Gore, the former vice-president, who in 1993 made a more unfortunate choice.

As Karenna Gore later wrote: "Ever since … I was put on the spot and told 'two syllables' and 'it has to start with an s,' I have been cringing in the back seat when identified as 'Smurfette'."

The names have been known to change. George W Bush was originally known as 'Tumbler', perhaps after the 'tumbleweed' of his native Texas, however the name took on an unfortunate symbolism after he took a number of comic falls, first from a Segway and later from the presidential sofa after an accident with a pretzel. The president is currently known by the more robust codename "Trailblazer".

As befits a "secret" organisation that has its own promotional website and publicly available address in Washington, the Secret Service is quite open about the codenames for its most important subjects.

"There's nothing Top Secret about them," said Eric Zahren, a spokesman for the Secret Service.

"It has no operational security significance any more because of encrypted communication capabilities."

Nowadays, he said, the codenames had "nothing to do with security" and more to do with tradition and ease in radio communication when tracking the subjects' movements.

They also provide never-ending fodder for comics and politicians looking for a laugh. As vice-president, Mr Gore often joked to crowds, he was so boring his code name was … Al Gore.

Over the years, some White House codenames have been fairly random – Gerald Ford's was Passkey – while others seemed tailor-made. Joe Biden, the vice-president-elect, who has Irish roots, is Celtic.

Ronald Reagan, who cultivated the brush-clearing cowboy image, was Rawhide. Jimmy Carter, a Sunday School teacher and deacon, was Deacon. Dick Cheney, who likes to fish, is Angler.

John McCain, a four-term senator from Arizona who was Obama's Republican presidential rival, is Phoenix. His fashion-conscious wife, Cindy, is Parasol. Sarah Palin, the Alaska governor who was McCain's running mate, was Denali, after the national park in her home state and the natural gas pipeline project that she promotes. Her husband, Todd, a North Slope oil worker, was Driller.

Some codenames have not worked out so well. When Jesse Jackson was assigned the codename Pontiac during his 1988 run for president, some thought the name had racial overtones. Pontiac is the punchline to a series of racist jokes.

The Secret Service said there was no racial motivation in selecting the name, and offered the candidate a new one. Mr Jackson said he had no problem with it.

Mr Obama had a say in choosing Renegade as his codename – he was given his choice of several words starting with R.

There is no hint of why Mr Obama made his choice. But it is fairly certain that he was not thinking about the word's origins.

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, renegade's earliest meanings had to do with deserting one's religion, coming from the Spanish "renegado", originally "Christian turned Muslim".

What does your codename say about you, Mr President?

PSYCHOLOGISTS have linked e-mail usernames to traits shown on personality tests. The results showed a high correlation between the "big five" personality types (openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and emotional stability) and the choice of username. Applying the same thinking to presidents' codenames reveals:

&#149 Obama – Renegade: A risk-taker, extrovert and unconventional, open-minded and challenging.

&#149 George W Bush – Trailblazer: Extrovert and forthright but conventional. Someone who leads from the front.

&#149 Clinton – Eagle: A conventional person, who is high on dominance and views things strategically.

&#149 George Bush snr – Timberwolf: An introvert, much happier when working alone, but with a high need for dominance

&#149 Reagan – Rawhide: An introvert. Self-reliant and highly dominant but also high on agreeableness.

&#149 Carter – Deacon: An introvert, highly conscientious, conservative in views and very stable, but quite closed.

&#149 Gerald Ford – Pass Key. Low dominance, openness and high conservatism.

&#149 Richard Nixon – Searchlight. High conservatism, optimistic and conscientious.

&#149 Lyndon Johnson – Volunteer: Conscientiousness, high agreeableness and emotional stability.

&#149 JFK – Lancer: High dominance, extroversion, but lower conscientiousness and emotional stability.

&#149 Eisenhower – Scorecard: Introverted with high conscientiousness, emotional stability and low openness

• Paul Dickins is an organisational psychologist who works for FWB Consultants.

WHO'S WHO

George W Bush - Tumbler, later Trailblazer

Laura Bush - Tempo

Barbara Bush (daughter) - Turquoise

Jenna Bush - Twinkle

Bill Clinton - Eagle

Hillary Clinton - Evergreen

Chelsea Clinton - Energy

George H W Bush - Timberwolf

Barbara Bush (wife) - Tranquility

Marvin Bush - Tuner

Neil Bush - Trapline

Jeb Bush - Tripper

Ronald Reagan - Rawhide

Nancy Reagan - Rainbow

Maureen Reagan - Rhyme or Rosebud

Michael Reagan - Riddler

Patti Davis - Ribbon

Ron Reagan - Reliant

Doria Reagan - Radiant

Jimmy Carter - Lock Master or Deacon

Rosalynn Carter - Dancer

Amy Carter - Dynamo

Chip Carter - Diamond

Jack Carter - Derby

Jeff Carter - Deckhand

Gerald Ford - Passkey

Betty Ford - Pinafore

Richard Nixon - Searchlight

Pat Nixon - Starlight

Lyndon Johnson - Volunteer

Lady Bird Johnson - Victoria

John F Kennedy - Lancer

Jacqueline Kennedy - Lace

Caroline Kennedy - Lyric

Dwight Eisenhower - Scorecard or Providence