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Why always POTUS?

Helen

Implicitly explicit
Helen
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Here. Or very nearly getting there, at least.
Just a question out of sheer curiousity: Some posters, such as Cicero and BAC for instance, seem to always call Obama POTUS. Why is that? I think most of us are aware that he is in fact President of the USA, som why the emphasis?

It seems to me, correct me if I'm wrong, that they use in a pejorative way (I have somehow come to the conclusion that they are perhaps not overly enjoyed that he was elected;)), but I just don't get it; isn't POTUS just what he is? I'm not fond of acronyms, but surely this one is not negative in itself? Or is this some shade of meaning that I'm missing out on, not being American?

Or am I getting it all wrong? Enlighten me, please!
 
Helen said:
Just a question out of sheer curiousity: Some posters, such as Cicero and BAC for instance, seem to always call Obama POTUS. Why is that? I think most of us are aware that he is in fact President of the USA, som why the emphasis?
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Cicero's and BAC's posts are rich with opportunities for sarcasm, ridicule and knee slapping. No need to pick on their use of an acronym.

Edit - In response you can expect Cicero's to be an amalgamation of Tu Quoque/non sequiturs and BAC's to be a rambling 500 words based on some World Net Daily pieces.
 
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I am not picking on it at all, I am sincerely curious. I hadn't bumped into that acronym many times at all before I ventured into the politics forum here, so to me is puzzling to see it used in what I feel is a pejorative way. I may be wrong, it may not hold any negative undertones when it is used by posters who dislike Obama, and it may a much more common usage that I was aware of.

A sincere question, in other words.
 
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I've wondered the same thing. Do they think there will be confusion? (Ohhh.....that Obama)
 
I too would like to know this. I noticed this too back in November, but it was "president-elect" instead of POTUS, obviously. Yeah sure, it's correct, but I doubt anyone on the forums is going to go "Oba-who?" if you just call him Obama.
 
I've been using POTUS since before Obama... easier than typing "president of the united states". I could type "president" but them some pedantic poster will demand to know which president, or say I'm too US-centric, or some other thing about it that upsets them.

Remember "Usaian"? :duck:

I wouldn't say "POTUS Obama" though.
 
POTUS, SCOTUS, and CONUS are pretty common on certain political forums. I don't think there's anything nefarious about it. It's probably just an indicator that those people post elsewhere too.
 
WildCat said:
I've been using POTUS since before Obama... easier than typing "president of the united states". I could type "president" but them some pedantic poster will demand to know which president, or say I'm too US-centric, or some other thing about it that upsets them.

Remember "Usaian"? :duck:

I wouldn't say "POTUS Obama" though.
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I was using POTUS before POTUS was cool.
 
First I ever heard the word POTUS was in connection with Bill Clinton. IIRC, one of the things that convinced Linda Tripp that Monica was telling the truth was when she was over at the latter's apartment in DC and the phone rang. The caller ID said POTUS.
 
psychictv said:
POTUS, SCOTUS, and CONUS are pretty common on certain political forums. I don't think there's anything nefarious about it. It's probably just an indicator that those people post elsewhere too.
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From a grammatical standpoint, my only real problem is that POTUS refers to the position. The title is "President".

It is the difference between:

Yesterday, I was talking to the President of the United States, Barak Obama, about such and such.​

and:

Yesterday, I was talking to President Barak Obama about such and such.​

Strictly speaking, referring to the man as "POTUS Obama" is incorrect.
 
Helen said:
Just a question out of sheer curiousity: Some posters, such as Cicero and BAC for instance, seem to always call Obama POTUS. Why is that? I think most of us are aware that he is in fact President of the USA, som why the emphasis?

It seems to me, correct me if I'm wrong, that they use in a pejorative way (I have somehow come to the conclusion that they are perhaps not overly enjoyed that he was elected;)), but I just don't get it; isn't POTUS just what he is? I'm not fond of acronyms, but surely this one is not negative in itself? Or is this some shade of meaning that I'm missing out on, not being American?

Or am I getting it all wrong? Enlighten me, please!
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quixotecoyote said:
Some people just aren't 'ready' for a "President Obama," if you know whadda I mean.;)
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If that were true, then I must not have not been "overly enjoyed that he (Reagan) was elected,"
or wasn't "'ready' for a President Reagan.

http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=5736638#post5736638
 
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Cicero said:
If that were true, then I must not have not been "overly enjoyed that he (Reagan) was elected,"
or wasn't "'ready' for a President Reagan.

http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=5736638#post5736638
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Sorry Cicero, I am the worst proof reader imaginable. That should have been enthused, not enjoyed. Thank you for pointing that out to me so that I could clarify.

Part of my question still remains however: Why the POTUS? There is very little risk that anyone would think that you are talking about someone else, isn't there? And why not president? If you don't know who Obama is, would you know what POTUS stands for? It does puzzle me, but perhaps it is just a common American usage that is unfamiliar to me.
 
Helen said:
It does puzzle me, but perhaps it is just a common American usage that is unfamiliar to me.
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The acronym is common usage online. AFIK, it is not commonly used as a title, nor should it be, as I pointed out.

It is akin to referring to SCOTUS Roberts or CONUS Pelosi.
 
Helen, never underestimate the power of forum-goers to be needlessly pedantic. I have seen people criticize other for assuming people will understand they are speaking about an American President. It's one of the reasons I often use the -OTUS names (POTUS, COTUS, SCOTUS, FLOTUS [first lady], VPOTUS, et al.)
 
First time I remember hearing POTUS was in high school from the one kid who was way too into politics. He also said things like Tricky Dick and Slick Willy and pretty much had his own set of nicknames for everything political you could think of. As a rather non-political high school student I couldn't understand half of what he said. :D

It just seems to be part of the jargon developed by those who spend lots of time discussing politics. I think I've seen both sides us that one, so it's not particularly partisan, though it is certainly sometimes used disparagingly.
 
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