With all the polling that’s done in America when it’s a presidential election year you would think that everyone of us would be asked to weigh in with our own preference at least once. Have you ever been polled? I haven’t. I’m not waiting for my phone to ring either.
On the other hand the number of candidates other than Harris and Trump running for offices at every level across the country who beseech me by text and email everyday for support— as in money —feels like enough at this point to fill an NBA arena. And if I had a dollar— no better make it $100 —for every text and email that I delete from them, I might even be able to buy a team to play in it.
But enough of what you already know!
I’ve been doing a little research into vice presidential history and don’t peek down at the bottom of this post yet because I have a quiz for you to take. Let’s start with the presidential election of 1952. If you’re old enough to have been alive and voted that year, it means you were born in or before 1933 which makes you at least 91 years old.
“I like Ike” was the winning presidential slogan in ‘52 and his less likeable vice presidential candidate had to salvage his spot on the ticket by claiming his wife didn’t own a mink coat and that his daughters’ cocker spaniel would not be regifted.
Yes, the famous “Checkers” speech was one of the earliest uses of television to appeal directly to voters and Richard Nixon became Dwight Eisenhower’s vice president and then one of ten in American history who had held that position to later be elected to be president themselves. Nixon made it to White House but Checkers was in doggie heaven by the time he did.
And here’s the beginning of the quiz. In both 1952 and 1956 Eisenhower ran against the same candidate, the governor of Illinois Adlai Stevenson. Can you name who were Stevenson’s vice presidential running mates in ’52 and ’56? If you can, you’re either at least 80 years old or a presidential historian. Jo and I actually know a terrific one who I bet can give you the answers.
No looking down below yet!
Keep your eyes right here and try to name all vice presidential candidates of the party that LOST in presidential elections from 1952 through 2020. That’s a total of 16 men and two women. I’d say if you remember half of them, you have done well.
You have five minutes before you have to hand in your bluebook…
Pencils down! Ok, go ahead and look and when you’re finished, click on the link at the very bottom of this post to see how one of the unsuccessful vice presidential aspirants made a clever comeback of sorts.
Click below…
I did remember Kefauver—but then, im well past 80, sooooo.