Hillary Clinton has been elected as the first female POTUS, marking a watershed moment in our country’s history.
Would Bill Clinton be “first gentleman” or “first dude”? Here’s what 2,000 Americans think.
And in the shadow of this accomplishment, the country reached another, albeit far less important, milestone: Bill Clinton became the first male spouse of a US president.
The term “first lady” will not suffice. So what to call Bill?
A few months back, in a Morning Consult poll, we posed this precise question to 1,921 Americans. Here’s how they answered.
Zachary Crockett / Vox
Nearly half of all respondents agreed that “former President Bill Clinton” would be the most appropriate title. Trailing distantly were the more generally applicable “first gentleman” (20 percent), “first man” (11 percent), and “first husband” (8 percent).
“First dude” actually garnered 3 percent of the total vote — surprisingly high, given the term’s informality. This percentage was even higher (6 percent) for Republican men and men who identified as unemployed. In some sense, if there were ever a political figurehead to embrace the essence of dudeness, it would be Bill Clinton.
In general, younger voters seem more open to giving Bill an informal title than older voters. Some 20 percent of respondents ages 18 to 29 voted for “first man,” compared with just 4 percent for those 65 and older. The older voters were, the more likely they were to select the most formal of the options (“former President Bill Clinton”).
Zachary Crockett / Vox
There is no steadfast rule governing what Bill’s title has to be
The term “first lady” is freeform. In the earliest days of the presidency, there was no official title for the position, and spouses were free to designate their own. Though “first lady” dates all the way back to Martha Washington, it didn’t really catch on until the 1860s — but only by personal choice, not mandate.
Like the ladies, Bill would enjoy the freedom to choose his own designation. Unlike his predecessors though, he possesses the added gravitas of being an ex-POTUS, making “former President Bill Clinton” the most logical choice.
Of course, there is always the sleeper pick: “commander of balloon drops.”
