Politics

By Alexandra Silver

ETYMOLOGY

What's in a Name? Football and Hotels

Raise your hand if you knew that Mitt Romney's given name was actually Willard Milton. Anyone? Both names honor men close to Romney's father, former Michigan Governor George W. Romney. Mitt--short for Milton--comes from a cousin who played quarterback for the Chicago Bears from 1925 to '29. And Willard is derived from the elder Romney's close friend and fellow Mormon J. Willard Marriott, who founded the eponymous hotel chain.

Other famous Willards:

WILLARD SCOTT

WILLARD (WILL) SMITH

J. WILLARD MARRIOTT

DOUBLE TAKE

Oh, to be a mind reader. On Nov. 26, President George W. Bush and former Vice President Al Gore were all smiles before meeting privately for the first time in seven years. Gore, a co-winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, was at the White House for the traditional presidential photo op with Nobel recipients.

There have been occasional public run-ins, but the two haven't talked privately since Bush was declared winner of their face-off in Dec. 2000.

Afterward, Gore said simply of their discussion, "We talked about global warming--the whole time."

GOD-O-METER

Preacher Man

It can be easy to forget that the jovial Mike Huckabee is campaigning as a Christian-right candidate. But his latest TV ad is a pretty good reminder. The words Christian Leader flash across the screen while Huckabee explains that "faith doesn't just influence me, it really defines me. I don't have to wake up every day wondering, 'What do I need to believe?'" He also exhorts religious conservatives to "live or die" by the belief that life starts at conception. Evangelical support has led to a recent Huckabee surge in Iowa, and this ad could boost those numbers further. But so much theo talk might worry Huckabee's media sympathizers.

beliefnet

For daily God-o-Meter readings covering all the presidential candidates, visit beliefnet.com

SECULARIST

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THEOCRAT

Campaign Insider.

Behind the lines in Rudy Giuliani's campaign war room

Not all candidates embrace the metaphor of politics as war. Dennis Kucinich, for example. But Rudy Giuliani is always up for a fight. The lights and the television sets go on at 3:30 most mornings in the headquarters of the former New York City mayor, thanks to a former Bush White House aide named Kathryn Grosso. As war-room manager, she monitors the buzz, and the buzz starts early. "We never know what the news cycle is going to bring," she says. "It always keeps you on your toes." Surrounded by other staffers, volunteers and orders from Chipotle, Grosso tunes in to radio with one ear and TV with the other. A stray story or quote might provide fodder for an attack on Mitt Romney, with whom Giuliani has publicly tussled recently.

In the world of campaign politics, it's possible to be a veteran at 24. Grosso, who studied political communications at Emerson College, has already logged time at the Republican National Committee (where she learned the art of rapid response during the 2004 Democratic Convention) as well as in the White House. She joined the Giuliani campaign in March and soon earned an employee-of-the-month award. The New Hampshire native won't make it home for the primary. "I'll be stationed in New York," she says. "But I'll definitely remind them to vote up there." There may have been countless cups of coffee since March, but the battle's only just begun.