When a campaign dies (historical review of US Presidential campaign gaffes)

The BBC ^ | unknown | anonymous BBC story monkey

[alnitak]

	Pale and sweaty The first televised presidential debate in 1960 proved a godsend for the photogenic John Kennedy and the opposite for the rather less attractive Vice-President Richard Nixon. Looking back, Nixon wrote: "After the programme ended, callers, including my mother, wanted to know if anything was wrong, because I did not look well". The impression lingered; Nixon lost.
	Day of Tears Democrat Senator Ed Muskie was immensely frustrated by a number of nasty remarks published about his wife, and, speaking outside the office of the offending newspaper in 1972, allegedly shed a few tears. Whether he did or not is ultimately irrelevant. The press decided he had - and the impression that stuck was of a weak man unfit for office.
	Soviet stumble President Gerald Ford hoped a presidential debate would boost his ratings against challenger Jimmy Carter. Instead it gave rise to an excruciating moment in which he insisted at the height of the Cold War in 1976 that Eastern Europe was not under Soviet domination. Ford appeared to have no grasp of world politics. The gaffe is widely believed to have cost him the presidency.
	Keep the kids at home President Jimmy Carter in a 1980 debate with Ronald Reagan said that he had sought his teenage daughter's advice on nuclear proliferation. The remark was widely ridiculed at the time, and when he lost the vote, analysts identified it as a critical strategic error.
	Tanked up The advisers of Democrat Michael Dukakis hoped that dressing him up in an army gear and putting him in a tank in 1988 would accentuate his readiness to be commander in chief and send a message that he was tough on defence. Instead the ridiculous pose was widely seen to have hardened the suspicion that Democrats could not be trusted to run the military.
	In the Doledrums In 1996, those asking questions about whether the Republican candidate Bob Dole was, at 73, too old to stand for the presidency saw their query answered when he tumbled from a stage. He hopped back up immediately, and said his response if anything proved his youthfulness, but the damage was done.
	Gore's gaffes Analysts agree that there is no one seminal moment that signalled the end of Democrat Al Gore's 2000 presidential bid. But from appearing to claim to have invented the internet to looking at his watch and rolling his eyes in presidential debates, Mr Gore often reinforced public impressions that he was arrogant.
	Dean's scream Democrat Howard Dean's outburst after an unexpectedly poor showing in the 2004 Iowa caucuses has been mixed into a pop CD and dubbed the 'I Have a Scream' speech. Even his wife admitted that she thought "it looked kind of silly''. His outbreak is thought to have confirmed some voters' suspicions that Mr Dean was unpresidential.

[alnitak]

Courtesy of the BBC. Enjoy predicting Kerry's demise!

[Celtjew Libertarian]

The pictures they have from Carter on are just... well, worth more than 1000 words.

[Paul Atreides]

Jesse certainly is giving someone the evil eye.

[Always Right]

The key to beating Kerry is getting him inside that tank. Bush's secret weapon will be making Kerry into Mike Dukakis. The Dukakisification of John Kerry will be the stroy of 2004....

[Celtjew Libertarian]

The key to beating Kerry is getting him inside that tank.

I don't know... Kerry is more physically imposing than Dukakis was and has the military in his background. He may actually seem comfortable there.

I think his stylistic vulnerability is the same as Algore's. A tendency to look and act like an elitist twit. His temper may also get him.

[Paul Atreides]

...Mr Gore often reinforced public impressions that he was arrogant.

[chimera]

Another one was the final Reagan-Mondull debate in '84. While many think that the Mondull campaign was doomed from the start (it was, and Ferraro's "you know how Italian men are" gaffe only reinforced the impression that it was a disorganized and silly effort), Mondull ruined his otherwise strong performance in the first debate by looking somewhat like Count Chocula. I wonder if his makeup team was disconnected from reality on that one.

[Always Right]

I don't know... Kerry is more physically imposing than Dukakis was and has the military in his background.

It's not about physical size or military experience. It is about peace protests, calling our soldiers war criminals, voting against virtually all major weapons programs, voting against the first Gulf War, etc...Kerry is very weak on national defense, no matter how many war medals of someone elses he threw away.

[Celtjew Libertarian]

Well... the first debate almost did Reagan in. He did not look good in it and it brought back the questions of whether he was too old.

When Reagan was (indirectly) asked about his age in the second debate and responded that he wasn't about to make "the youth and inexperience" of his opponent an issue, that was the last nail in the Mondale campaign's coffin.

[alnitak]

I hope you have seen this thread: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1082762/posts

[Celtjew Libertarian]

It's not about physical size or military experience. It is about peace protests, calling our soldiers war criminals, voting against virtually all major weapons programs, voting against the first Gulf War, etc...Kerry is very weak on national defense, no matter how many war medals of someone elses he threw away.

Those are issues.... But the article is more about appearances, mannerisms, and styles of the candidates. With the exception of Ford's gaffe in the debate, none of these gaffes had anything in particular to do with policy. Kerry in a tank could look tough and improve his chances, regardless of where he actually stands.

[Prime Choice]

The key to beating Kerry is getting him inside that tank. Bush's secret weapon will be making Kerry into Mike Dukakis. The Dukakisification of John Kerry will be the stroy of 2004....

It would seem that more than a few people agree with you there...

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

What about Gary Hart's advice to reporters to "put a tail" on him?

I think that was classic arrogance in the AlGore style.

[Always Right]

LOL, thanks. They did an great job, just hope DUers don't get their panties in a bind like they did on the fake Fonda-Kerry picture.

[dvwjr]

Absolutely correct about the second Reagan/Mondale debate. Once Reagan got off that line about the "youth and inexperience" of his opponent, the audience in the hall and the one watching TV at home both had a good laugh. Thus reassured about Reagan's fitness and quick wit, the election was over. You could sense it and everyone in the nation who was not wearing blinders knew it also...


dvwjr

[Prime Choice]

just hope DUers don't get their panties in a bind like they did on the fake Fonda-Kerry picture.

Hehehehe. Well, if they do, we oughta break out the cigars and sparkling cider.

Sometimes the best way to tell how well a stone is thrown is by listening for which mutt howls the loudest.   ; )

[rogueleader]

Note that all of these were on television. (Al Gore's Internet remark was originally played on C-SPAN. For some reason, the tape was never played again.)

Television magnifies a candidate's flaws.

[Celtjew Libertarian]

Once Reagan got off that line about the "youth and inexperience" of his opponent, the audience in the hall and the one watching TV at home both had a good laugh.

Even Mondale was laughing. And his laughter seemed genuine.

[atomicpossum]

LOL, thanks. They did an great job, just hope DUers don't get their panties in a bind like they did on the fake Fonda-Kerry picture.

You mean the DUpes?

[Cicero]

I think Reagan nailed it down with "There you go again."

And gore lost more than a few points when he tried to intimidate Bush by looming over him during a debate. Bush didn't intimidate, and the gesture made gore like like a bully and a fool.