Huntsman Jr. getting a bit 'o blog buzz

[Mr. Morden]

Why do you call him "Huntsman Jr." rather than just "Huntsman"?  I know his father is a prominent businessman, but only the son is in politics, and it's pretty obvious when you say "Huntsman" with regard to potential 2012 presidential candidates that you're referring to the current governor of Utah, not his father.

I mean, no one calls Barack Obama "Obama Jr.", so why do the same here?

[Mr. Morden]

Why do you call him "Huntsman Jr." rather than just "Huntsman"?  I know his father is a prominent businessman, but only the son is in politics, and it's pretty obvious when you say "Huntsman" with regard to potential 2012 presidential candidates that you're referring to the current governor of Utah, not his father.

I mean, no one calls Barack Obama "Obama Jr.", so why do the same here?

Huntsman Sr. is still alive.

So?  No one called our former vice president "Gore Jr.", though his father was alive until 1998.

[Mr. Morden]

Why do you call him "Huntsman Jr." rather than just "Huntsman"?  I know his father is a prominent businessman, but only the son is in politics, and it's pretty obvious when you say "Huntsman" with regard to potential 2012 presidential candidates that you're referring to the current governor of Utah, not his father.

I mean, no one calls Barack Obama "Obama Jr.", so why do the same here?

That's his formal name.  I don't know, I call people by how they like to be called unless I'm being snarky.

Does he really go by that?  Do people in Utah actually call him "Governor Huntsman Jr."?

[Mr. Morden]

Obama's father is dead, so he should not use "Jr." Is Huntsman's father still alive?

EDIT: I see he is and is certainly "man about town" in his own right. So, his son should definitely use "Jr." Can't disrespect Dad.

Yes, though as I said, Al Gore Jr.'s father was alive until 1998, and people still just referred to him as "Gore" when his father was still alive.  If Huntsman actually goes by "Huntsman Jr.", then OK, but I was just remarking that it sounds kind of weird to hear <LAST NAME> Jr., when it's pretty clear which member of the family you're talking about without adding the junior.  Anyway, I didn't mean to be accusatory against Lunar, it just made no sense to me at the time.

[Mr. Morden]

http://www.politico.com/blogs/scorecard/1108/Utah_governor_critical_of_GOP.html

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