The “Gaffe-a-thon” of the 1976 Election

Jimmy Carter’s speechwriter said “We were 30 points up. But unfortunately we had to campaign.”  That’s how the general election of 1976 went. A tight race turns to a veritable battle of gaffes between two newbie Presidential candidates.  From plane weights to Soviets to love and lust and religion and race, a surprise challenger try…

Dewey Gets Mad: Another Look at the 1948 Election

Truman’s high-tech train, Dewey’s We Go High optimism and the defeat that made him cling to it, Truman’s risky calling of a Session of Congress and how it went badly for him in a few ways, and Dewey’s decision to get angry, unfortunately first at an average citizen and only later at his opponent.  These…

The Fifth Debate That Never Happened: 1960

After the four TV debates between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy in 1960, there was talk of a fifth.  That talk didn’t result in another TV debate, but did provide one more campaign issue for a very tight election, and developed a new thing – TV debate negotiations.    Among the reasons the debate…

John W. Davis Also Ran

When an obscure lawyer won a party’s nomination for President in a surprise convention choice, he used his platform to take on a hate group.