Robert, Bob or Bobby?

So what is Congressman Etheridge's first name?

Dome and the rest of the capital press corps typically refer to the Lillington Democrat as "U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge."

But the Washington Post repeatedly refers to him as "Bobby Etheridge."

Given the Post's reputation for accuracy, we naturally became concerned and went to the source — or close to it.

Spokeswoman Joanne Peters said Etheridge's first name is actually "Bobby," and he went by it when he was younger. Though he now goes by "Bob," he doesn't mind if people use the more casual form.

Nexis seems to prefer Bob. Only 351 references to "Bobby Etheridge" could be found in the archives of state newspapers, while 2,619 came back with "Bob Etheridge."