Secret Service Code Names Revealed

March 19, 2012

Secret Service Code Names Revealed

GQ reveals the Secret Service code names chosen by the top two Republican presidential candidates: Mitt Romney elected to call himself "Javelin." And Rick Santorum chose "Petrus."

"It's tempting to associate a candidate's code word with some aspect of their personality. Sometimes this is true and sometimes it is not. 'Petrus' is a biblical allusion -- as in St. Peter, the first pope. (The Latin name is derived from the Greek word for 'rock.') Perhaps 'Javelin' is a reference to the '60s muscle car made by American Motors Corporation, the company once run by George Romney."

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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March 19, 2012