Great October surprises of yore
By ADAM REILLY | October 4, 2006
1980: Emissaries of Republican presidential candidate Ronald Reagan allegedly work behind the scenes with Iran to derail Democrat Jimmy Carter’s negotiations to free US hostages held in that country. 1992 investigations by the House and Senate assert there was no conspiracy, but fail to grapple with key information. 1992: Republican defense secretary Caspar Weinberger is indicted on Iran-Contra conspiracy charges four days before the presidential election. Republican George H.W. Bush is subsequently unseated by Democrat Bill Clinton.
1994: Facing a tough challenge from then-Republican Senate candidate Mitt Romney, Ted Kennedy says his opponent should be asked about the LDS Church’s past exclusion of black men from its priesthood. Kennedy later recants; Romney loses.
2000: Revelation (by FOX News!) that George W. Bush was once arrested for drunk driving tests the GOP’s crisis-management mettle. Bush wins anyway.
2003: Just before a vote on the proposed recall of California Governor Gray Davis, a Democrat, the Los Angeles Times reports on Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger’s alleged history of aggressive, inappropriate womanizing. Arnold still wins.
Related:
Rallying cries, Bringing the party to the people, Where has all the Gonzo gone?, More 
- Rallying cries
Though the press focuses on organization, tactics, and fundraising, campaigns are won by unifying ideas.
- Bringing the party to the people
Are there any jobs on Earth more virile-sounding than commander in chief?
- Where has all the Gonzo gone?
On top of everything else they’ve blighted over their awful eight-year reign, the Bushies did this: they killed Hunter S. Thompson.
- Wish list
[1] An MBTA Red Line station without a broken escalator. [2] Someone in the White House who at least pretends we’re still looking for Osama.
- The Rhoda Reaction
what are the causes of evil and how do we eradicate it — or at least keep it in abeyance?
- Political cartoons
Among its hordes of firsts, The Simpsons helped transplant politicians from the cartoon funny pages to our television sets.
- Fear itself
The smell of fear is thick in the air these days.
- A sobering question
With every passing week the nation’s already-screwed-up economy becomes even more distressed.
- Bush’s high crimes
President Bush’s penchant for authoritarianism — for executive power unchecked by either Congress or the courts — has been laid bare by his aggressive and unapologetic defense of the indefensible: the secret surveillance of Americans without warrants.
- On the wrong track
Heaven knows that the Phoenix is a staunch supporter of most mass-transit efforts, but plans to resume trolley service from Arborway Station in Jamaica Plain along Centre Street just don’t make sense when all of the factors are considered.
- The long-winded, winding road
Politicians have always been prone to clichés and adages.
- Less
Topics:
Talking Politics
, Mitt Romney, Elections and Voting, Politics, More
, Mitt Romney, Elections and Voting, Politics, U.S. Politics, U.S. Presidential Election, Political Parties, George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Edward M. Kennedy, Less
