What politicians call themselves reflects how they think, and how they would like to be thought of. FDR used FDR, partly because it echoed his great ancestor TR and partly because, I suspect, it sounded imperial. LBJ echoed his hero FDR, whose New Deal Lyndon Johnson believed he was completing with the Great Society. Jimmy Carter resisted James, underscoring the populist image he wanted to cultivate. Ronald Reagan was always Ronald Reagan, a dashing action hero: he even dropped his middle name, Wilson, in his presidential inaugurals. Never clutter up the credits.
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