I’ve been talking about the inherent sexism of calling Candidate Clinton by her first name, Hillary, while using last names or full titles with the other candidates (“Trump”, “Bush”, …). Then, of course, there’s Bernie, which throws a wrench in my theory.

Ian McEwan has another theory, as evinced by his one-line throwaway in an article in the Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jul/09/country-political-crisis-tories-prime-minister): it’s a way to make us disenfranchised plebs more interested in the goings on of the elections.

“Our first-naming paradoxically measures our distance from events.”