Darling, what's your name?

[AP]

After hearing John Edwards say this for maybe the 100th time to little girls asking him questions on the campaing trail, a friend of mine said to me over the weekend, 'Ooh, I want to hear John Edwards say that to me!"

[XanaDUer]

1. Chuckle.

Well, he is very attractive.

[Punkingal]

2. I had a supervisor at American Airlines from NC...

and he sounded exactly like JRE. He was always calling me "Darlin'" and I bet JRE does that, too.

[AP]

3. He does it just about every time a little girl asks him a question.

[Punkingal]

4. LOL

I didn't know that.

[Robb]

5. That's fantastic!

I gotta tell you, it would do the country good to hear that young crooner address the nation every week. :thumbsup:

[spooky3]

6. is he/she above the age of 7?

I'm sure JRE knows it would be considered condescending by many adult women and I have never seen him do it to anyone other than children.

[AP]

7. She's above the age of 7, but it's so soothing, she said. It takes you

back to when you were 7.

[snoochie]

8. I don't know about Edwards, but

in the South it's quite common. It is condescending and even insulting, but, it's the South.

[AP]

9. Some people in a certain age range find it insulting to be called "Ma'am"

and wish they were still mistaken for being down in "Darling" territorry.

[Maddy McCall]

12. LOL! True!

[MaineDem]

10. Thank you

I was wondering if he said that to adults. I was getting a bit concerned.

I'm very uncomfortable being called "darling" or anything like that. I assume part of that is geographical.

He's my number two choice, by the way.

[Punkingal]

13. It is a Southern thing....

I am from Tennessee, and a lot of men call women "darlin." It is meant in the most respectful way, the inference being "you are special." I have never taken it to be demeaning in any way, but then it was always part of the culture where I grew up, or I might feel otherwise.

[Maddy McCall]

11. Southern woman here...don't take offense to being called Darlin' or Sugah

because those are terms of endearment here, not terms of condescension.

It's truly a southern thing, and anyone who would be offended by such terms of endearment wouldn't last a day here. Men are called sugah and darlin and honey by women, too.

While there is much to hate about the south, this is one of the things I love.

[Dookus]

14. If the worst problem our society faced....

were people calling other people "darlin'", then we'd be truly blessed.

[SpaceCatMeetsMars]

15. Years ago I was working in

downtown Pittsburgh where I am from and had to deliver something to a hotel where they had a lot of conventions. I was riding the elevator with this big group of Southern men and the youngest one said something like, "Hey darlin, how are you doing today?"

I was so insulted, and thought that he was being demeaning and a big show-off in front of the other men and was trying to make a pick-up, so I turned my nose up and ignored him completely. The poor guy looked so confused and the older men started laughing and said to him, "You're in the NORTH now!"

Since then I have met Southerners and been to the South and understand the cultural differences a lot more!

[AP]

16. Just checked with aforemention friend. Exact quote is:

"Hello. And what's your name, Darlin'?"

That's what Edwards says to seven year-old girls.

When I asked her what the line was, she pulled it out right away and said again, "I wish he'd say that to me."