(Greg Kuperberg) wrote in
:

Anyway the name "James Webb" is still somewhat politically useful.
I suppose that astronomers who don't like it could secretly say that
"JW" stands for "John Wheeler".

I don't see why giving it a particular name should provide an added degree
of political protection. Are there people who will protect it out of
respect for Webb or his legacy?

I personally like the idea of naming these projects after people famous in
the history of astronomy, like Hubble. I can't think of a name as
distinguished as Hubbles, but I'm sure that there are more than a few.