JFK & Gov. Pat Brown Call Nixon "Nuts"

Speaking about Richard Nixon's 1962 "Farewell Speech," newly elected Governor Pat Brown and President Kennedy reflect on the former VP's political meltdown. With choice quotes, "Wasn't that terrible?" and "I don't see how he can ever recover" and best of all, "I really think he's psychotic."

Of course, Nixon did recover, winning the Presidency in 1968 and 1972.

JFK's "Absenteeism" in the Senate

Senators and Congressmen are usually vulnerable to attacks on their voting records -- and often their lack thereof. Hillary Clinton derided Obama for voting "present" in the Illinois State Senate and George W. Bush went after Kerry for his poor attendance at Senate Intelligence hearings. While it's an effective line of attack that we're bound to see again in 2012, the tactic is hardly new -- check out the below RNC pamphlet from 1960:

The pamphlet criticized JFK's "absenteeism" in the Senate, referring to some 331 roll call votes that the then-Senator missed.

Most Underrated Political Slogan: "They Can't Lick Our Dick"

One of the more humorous, unofficial, historic campaign slogans was "They Can't Lick Our Dick," which was used on at least four different campaign buttons for Richard Nixon. Another classic was "Don't change Dicks in the midst of a screw, vote for Nixon in '72," pictured below:

Follow @WillRabbe

Gary Hart's Meteoric Fall in the 1988 Primaries

24 years ago, one time Democratic frontrunner Gary Hart abruptly dropped out of the 1988 Presidential race. Besieged by negative press, the campaign had lasted only three weeks -- an implosion caused by a newspaper stakeout, a careless candidate and a photograph that suggested an extra-marital affair with a woman 20 years his junior. 

Hart's nightmare candidacy began with several unconfirmed murmurs of infidelity. When questioned about the rumors, Hart took a defiant approach, playing chicken with the press, even daring reporters to tail him. 

Famous last words. Watch this clip to see how the events unfolded:

ABC Entertainment News|ABC Business News

Outraged, Hart's defiance in the face of the evidence drew parallels to Richard Nixon's classic "blame the press" disposition. Nixon himself even reached out to Hart following his departure from the race, telling him that "They demand to ruthlessly question the ethics of anyone else, but when anyone else dares to question their ethics, they hide behind the shield of freedom of speech.''