(Images: Former Cong. Richard 'Dick' Gephardt (D-Mo) and former Cong. Jack Kemp (R-NY) in his football playing days for the Buffalo Bills. Both men ran for president in 1988. Kemp later become Bob Dole's running mate in 1996. Gephardt ran again in 2004.)
I had an amazing high school reunion this weekend. It was surprising how much we had all changed and how at the same time we were very similar to the people that we were in high school.
It reminded me a lot of the Michael Apted documentaries "35 Up," "42 Up," etc., in which the filmmaker visits some kids who went to the same first grade class in England in the late 1950s and follows them around the world every seven years.
1988 was an interesting year as it was both a presidential year and an Olympic year.
Since I am a bit of a political animal (I was the one person who dared talked politics it at the reunion!), I thought I would go with two quotes from two exceptional congressmen who are alas no longer with us.......in Congress (they are both alive and well though).
As mentioned in the caption, they both ran for president in 1988. And, I personally wish either or both of them had won their respective party nominations that year. I can think of few people I like more though I have yet to check either one's voting record!
Since I am reportedly the only Democrat who ever graduated from Glenvar High School (nudge, nudge, wink, wink), I will start with Gephardt who I saw at a political rally in Georgetown, SC, in 2004.
Though I was supporting Gephardt at the time (I did not support John Kerry until he went up against GWB), I did not drive all the way down to SC just to hear him speak as I happened to be in nearby Myrtle Beach on that January day.
I do love this quote from him, which I don't think is meant to be taken seriously:
"Politics is a substitute for violence."
Next, we turn to Kemp, a moderate Republican and an intellectual, who is in my humble opinion the best vice presidential pick on the Republican side during my lifetime (Agnew, Cheney, Quayle and Palin........come on you dittoheads you got to agree with me on this one):
"Pro football gave me a good perspective. When I entered the political arena, I had already been booed, cheered, cut, sold, traded and hanged in effigy."
I am looking forward to finally seeing the mocumentary "Tanner '88" from the late, great Robert Altman which revolves around a fictional candidate who ran for office in 1988, next week when it comes in the mail from Netflix.
Tanner made a 'comeback' in 2004.
There happens to be a real-life Congressman named Jeff Tanner (D-Tenn.)
While researching this piece, I was amazed to learn that racist politician David Duke, once a member of the KKK, who tried to become the Republican governor of Louisiana during the Bush One years, actually ran for president in 1988 as well. That is startling enough, but get this_ he ran as a Democrat!
http://www.votesmart.org
(If you want to check anyone's voting record. Somehow, I think most people who spend time with that site are lobbyists or middle school civics teachers or both!)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment