Saturday, July 26, 2008

Code names


So Honeyface and i watched Vantage Point last night. We both found it entertaining and enjoyable, but one thing struck me about the prtrayal of the Secret Service: the lack of imagination regarding the President's code name. Vantage Point chose only to call the President POTUS. I have always found the Secret Service fascinating especially when it comes to their blatant lack of secrecy. Sure, as a bracnch of the Treasury, they do a bunch of covert, under-cover work to deal with couterfeiting and the like, but when it comes to protecting the President, They really go in for the overt. They want you to know that big dudes with big guns are all about. These guys are not posing as spectators, but are prominently looking, not at the dignitary, but at the crowd. And they are even forthright when it comes to the codenames of the folks they are protecting.
In film and literature, we have seen the President code named Traveler (In the line of Fire), Eagle (West Wing) and Swordsman (Tom Clancy novels). In real life they have given names Lancer and Lace to JFK and Jackie; Rawhide to Reagan; and Halo to JPII. But some of these names are, well, hilarious. Bush2 is also known as Tumbler. Nancy Reagan was Rainbow, Al Gore was Sawhorse, Ted Kennedy was Sunburn, Barbara Bush was Snowbank, and Frank Sinatra was Napoleon. Of course the best is the name given to Prince Charles: Unicorn.
So Honeyface and i decided to think up some code names for eachother. Here is what I have so far for her: Nightingale - Blue Bonnet - Espresso - Pooky Lumps - Gadiva - Straightener - Cocoa Bean - Accountant - Charlemagne - Giggler - Argyle - Alabaster - Demander - Cuddler - Sharps -Sugar Cookie.

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