Ford Dumps Rocky, Picks up Dole for '76

President Gerald Ford dropped Vice President Nelson Rockefeller for Senator Bob Dole a full year before the 1976 general election after much deliberation. Disguised as a "decision of his [Rockefeller's] own," Ford was concerned that Rockefeller might cause him to lose support amongst the conservative wing of the party, thus threatening his nomination at the '76 RNC. It was a decsion that he later came to regret, as Thomas DeFrank reported in his 2007 book Write It When I'm Gone (which, to the consternation of his publisher, was originally titled Write It When I'm Dead). Saying he was, "embarrassed that I didn't tell the hard right-wingers that Rockefeller had done a good job and would be a good vice president for a four-year period," Ford bowed to the pressure from his cabinet.  

What's more interesting is that it was his chief of staff at the time, Donald Rumsfeld, who pushed President Ford the hardest to replace the veep -- which DeFrank contends was namely because Rumsfeld hoped to replace Rocky himself. While Dole was an acceptable candidate, it was in his VP debate against Walter Mondale in which he crudely remarked that World War I, WWII, Korea and Vietnam were all "Democrat Wars":

While Ford survived a convention challenge against Ronald Reagan (who had previously run a low-key battle for the GOP nom against Nixon and Rockefeller in 1968 -- a little discussed fact), he would eventually lose the 1976 general election to Gov. Jimmy Carter. Confessing to his own "cowardice" in his memoirs, Ford's politically expedient move begs the question: is it ever prudent to drop a sitting vice president? 

"Not Nice": Geraldine Ferraro Speaks About Her 1984 VP Debate Against George H.W. Bush

Geraldine Ferraro passed away on Saturday March 26th, 2011. She was the first woman ever on a major party ticket and was known for speaking her mind and being unapologetic. While her selection was expected to breath new life into Walter Mondale's 1984 Presidential campaign, Mondale & Ferraro lost 49 states to incumbent Ronald Reagan. 

One of her most famous moments of the '84 campaign was her October 11th debate against then-VP George Herbert Walker Bush. When Bush appeared to be lecturing her on foreign policy, she called him out for speaking down to her, accusing him of having a patronizing attitude. I had the pleasure of sitting down with her in the spring of 2007, and she spoke about what happened -- she also points out that Bush even bragged about "kicking ass" after the debate, take a look below:

Dick Cheney for Congress 1978 TV Advertisement

Check out this 1978 campaign ad for Dick Cheney for Congress in Wyoming. The setting is rather bizarre, as he's crouched on a lawn with several young voters. He appears to be defending his fitness for office, discussing his heart attack and comparing himself to other politicians that had heart trouble, including LBJ and Ike:

The Kennedys Miniseries on Reelz

The orphaned TV miniseries The Kennedys, was finally picked up by Reelz Network after a tough fight to keep it on it's former cable outlet. The controversial drama will premiere on April 3rd, despite some setbacks -- and, it seems, they got the presidential portrait right-on:

The left is the official White Houser portrait, on the right is Greg Kinnear, who plays JFK. I wonder what Seymour Hersh thinks.