The Secret Service will refer to GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan as "Bowhunter" this election season, his recently selected codename, GQ reports.
Following the tradition of having family members pick code names beginning with the same letter, Ryan's wife, Janna, will go by "Buttercup," a campaign official told the magazine.
The moniker has particular relevance to Ryan, who is in fact a renowned bowhunter. Protectees now typically get to choose their own codenames, so it appears that Ryan, who will be on the cover of October's Deer and Deer Hunting magazine, playing second fiddle to a picture of a large buck, chose an apt title.
GQ first reported that Ryan's running mate, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, would go by the code name of "Javelin," a type of car once manufactured by American Motors, the company where George Romney, Romney's father, was chief executive.
President Barack Obama is sometimes identified by the Secret Service as "Renegade," while his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama, uses the tag "Renaissance." Their daughters, Sasha and Malia, go by "Rosebud" and "Radiance." Vice President Joe Biden is known by his code name "Celtic," and his wife, Jill, "Capri."
The leaking of Secret Service code names has been commonplace since the agency became capable of ensuring high-tech encryption of its communications lines.
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