Remembering Presidential Elections



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.
What is your first memory of a presidential election?


6 comments:

  1. 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.

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    1. Harry 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

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  2. Oh, 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.



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    1. Love the idea of those train campaigns. Great stories vanilla.

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  3. You have a great memory Bob! Love you list.

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    1. Thanks Debby. My memory is fairly selective. My mother had a great memory. Especially when it came to embarrassing kid stories. ツ

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