Octopus Overlords

If we already have a political RIP thread, I don't remember it, and posting politicians in EBG probably wouldn't go well.

RIP Walter Mondale, Carter's VP, at age 93.

I cast my first vote in 1988 for Michael Dukakis (and, locally, against Newt Gingrich), but I think my political awakening began when one of my best friends stepped up to stand for Mondale vs Reagan in a 1984 mock presidential debate in my conservative Evangelical private school.

RIP, Mr. Vice President.

I voted for that guy. He lost by a bigger landslide than Florida Man.

As the obit mentions, he lost when he told voters that he was going to raise taxes. "So will the other guy," he said, but he was honest enough to say it. Turns out that promising to raise your taxes is not a winning strategy.

So maybe not the most astute politician, but he stuck to his beliefs and AFAIK was never tainted by any big scandal. He probably would've been a better president than the other guy.

Mondale lost when he announced his candidacy. The line about taxes makes for a good story, but he was polling 10 points behind Reagan for months before he delivered it. Reagan was just really, REALLY popular in 1984. Mondale never had a chance.

Yeah, being connected to Carter wasn't a great starting position, and charisma was his dump stat. I never found Reagan charismatic but most Americans did.

Little Raven wrote: ↑Mon Apr 19, 2021 11:48 pm Mondale lost when he announced his candidacy. The line about taxes makes for a good story, but he was polling 10 points behind Reagan for months before he delivered it. Reagan was just really, REALLY popular in 1984. Mondale never had a chance.

Voters weren't ready for a female VP either.

LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:49 am Voters weren't ready for a female VP either.

I always thought Ferraro was one of the few assets of that campaign. Reagan was really popular, and was turning a lot of things around after the failure that was the Carter administration. There was no way Mondale, drenched with the stink of that failure, was ever going to mount a challenge to Reagan but neither would have either of the other donkey contenders (Gary Hart, who was a dope, and Jesse Jackson, who was too much a radical). Even though the ERA failed to pass during Reagan's first term, women were starting to find their voice as a voting block, so it was a reasonable ploy that helped established the Dems as the stronger party with regards to women's rights.

Back when the ERA was up for adoption, the big scare was men and women would have to use the same restrooms.