I have been around for a few of these things. Here are my brief recollections of them:
- 1956 :: A car with a bullhorn driving by my house on Staten Island shouting "Vote for Ike!".
- 1960 :: I watched the first televised debate. Morning after the election one of the
guys at junior high was carrying a newspaper with the results. - 1964 :: In high school. A sad year for those of us who admired President Kennedy.
- 1968 :: Drafted that year. Spent election day in basic training at Fort Jackson, SC.
- 1972 :: My first year working for Ma Bell. Do not remember voting.
- 1976 :: I became a Christian in April of that year and became aware of a candidate
that prayed publicly. First candidate to really inspire me. - 1980 :: With most of America, I joined the Reagan revolution and the pro-life voting bloc.
- 1984 :: Still loved Ronald Reagan and voted for him.
- 1988 :: Pat Robertson won the Iowa Caucus that year. I was glad to see us elect Bush and Quayle.
- 1992 :: Ross Perot showed up and sadly upset a Bush reelection. Great SNL debate skits though.
- 1996 :: I supported the other Bob from Kansas even though he did not have much of a chance.
- 2000 :: I loved the compassionate conservatism message and voted for W.
- 2004 :: Growing weary of a president that did not hold press conferences and embraced the
war president moniker. Fortunately for Republicans, Kerry was even worse than W. - 2008 :: Conservatives splintered and the GOP got McCain and Palin. So disappointed.
- 2012 :: I liked Romney at the beginning. Over time it became obvious that he was running a bad campaign.
- 2016 :: I like the temperament and message of John Kasich. I'm such a sucker for underdogs.
1948 Freshman in high school rooting for Truman over Dewey in spite of the annoyance that provided to Father, if not because of it. Chicago Trib got it wrong; I was elated.
ReplyDeleteHarry lived just a few miles east of us in Independence. I am not sure where I was on Election Day in 1948 as it was 6 months before I was born. ツ
DeleteOh, too. The excitement when the President's train stopped in our town and The Man himself spoke from the platform of the rear car. Believe it: this kid was as close as he could wiggle through the press of the crowd. Also saw Ike on his whistle-stop tour in 1952.
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of those train campaigns. Great stories vanilla.
DeleteYou have a great memory Bob! Love you list.
ReplyDeleteThanks Debby. My memory is fairly selective. My mother had a great memory. Especially when it came to embarrassing kid stories. ツ
Delete