October 11, 2004
Bumper Sticker Shock

I was reminded of the current federal election -- and the one we had four years ago, and the one four years before that -- when I saw this quote from a bumper sticker from the Nixon/Kennedy presidential campaign, 1960:

"Be Thankful Only One of Them Can Win."

A wry message of optimism dealing with a dubious decision. But then I thought about it, and I realized...

Eventually, *both* of them won. It was a lie! It was all wrong! They *could* both win!

[sigh]

On that downer note, here's a trivia question for you: when's the last time the Republican party fielded a bid for the White House that did *not* feature either a Bush or a Dole on the ticket?

(Remember, ticket = President & Vice President)

Posted by on October 11, 2004 11:14 PM in the following Department(s): Tidbits III

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Amazingly, 1972.

2004: Bush/Cheney
2000: Bush/Cheney
1996: Dole/Kemp
1992: Bush/Quayle
1988: Bush/Quayle
1984: Reagan/Bush
1980: Reagan/Bush
1976: Ford/Dole
1972: Nixon/Agnew

Hope things are great where you are,
Allen

Posted by: Allen McPheeters on October 13, 2004 7:56 PM

Allen,

Clearly you’re not old enough to remember such a bumper sticker from back in the day, 1960? You certainly don’t look old enough.

It is amazing, even after rummaging through artifacts or collectables; you can clearly get the feeling that the more things change the more they stay the same.

Posted by: Tony on October 15, 2004 4:56 PM

You are both correct.

Allen, the correct answer to the question was 1972. Pretty wild, eh?

Tony, you are correct that I'm not old enough to remember such a bumper sticker. Rather, I encountered it on a web site that listed various aphorisms and quotable quotes.

When it comes to politics, though, you're definitely right: the more things change, the more they stay the same.

I remember vividly (insofar as I *was* old enough) how the choice between Carter and Reagan in 1980 was often refered to as choosing between "the lesser of two evils."

This reminds me of a shirt I saw recently that said, "Cthulu in 2004. Why settle for a lesser evil?"

(For those of you who aren't aware, Cthulu was the vilest, meanest, evilest creature from the depths of hell to populate the fiction of H. P. Lovecraft, et al.)

Posted by: Allan on October 18, 2004 3:41 PM

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On Oct 18, Allan said:
"You are both correct. Allen, the correct a..." on entry: Bumper Sticker Shock.

On Oct 15, Tony said:
"Allen, Clearly you’re not old enough to re..." on entry: Bumper Sticker Shock.

On Oct 13, Allen McPheeters said:
"Amazingly, 1972. 2004: Bush/Cheney 20..." on entry: Bumper Sticker Shock.

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