The first musical comedy to win the Pulitzer Prize, `Of Thee I Sing', is a
brilliant political satire that gives us today's word. In this masterful
operetta (music: George Gershwin, lyrics: Ira Gershwin, libretto: George
Kaufman and Morris Ryskind), presidential candidate Alexander Wintergreen
runs a political campaign based on the theme of love. His National Party
sponsors a beauty contest, with Wintergreen to marry the winner. Instead,
Wintergreen falls in love with Mary Turner, a secretary at the pageant, and
marries her on the day of his inauguration. Diana Devereaux, the contest
winner, sues President Wintergreen for breach of contract; France threatens
to go to war, since Devereaux is of French descent; and Congress impeaches
him. Wintergreen points out the United States Constitution provision that
when the President is unable to perform his duty, the Vice President fulfills
the obligations. VP Throttlebottom agrees to marry Diana and forever etches
his name in the dictionaries.

Sometimes you have to wonder whether fictional people appear more real or
real people more fictional. The rest of this week features other examples
of eponyms, or words derived from people's names; from fact as well as from
fiction.