George Herbert Walker Bush, June 12, 1924 (Milton, Mass.) – November 30, 2018 (Houston, Tex.)
VP candidate for Cocktail Party (1988)
Running mate with nominee: Mrs. Foggybottom (aka Joan Cushing)
Popular vote: 0 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
Mrs. Foggybottom was the stage persona of Joan Cushing, a 2nd grade teacher in Landover Hills, Md. by day, but by night she transformed into Mrs. Foggybottom, a singing comedian who played in the Washington DC metro entertainment spots to audiences eager to enjoy someone lampooning the political situation of the era. She also had a newspaper column.
Mrs. Foggybottom was described by the Washington Post as "a glove-wearing, martini-sipping, cigarette holder-gripping, wisecracking society dame." The earliest newspaper reference I found mentioning Mrs. Foggybottom was in 1983, but Cushing's steady gig lasted from 1986-1995. However, to this day Mrs. Foggybottom still makes special appearances.
In Feb. 1988 Cushing filed with the FEC as "Mrs. Foggybottom" and announced her fictitious character was running for President under the banner of the Cocktail Party.
I know secondary school students read this blog, so I'll leave out some of her racier comments. Here are some quotes and platform issues from the Mrs. Foggybottom campaign:
"I believe that what this country needs after eight years of Ronald Reagan is a four-year happy hour."
She promised that after her term in office all Americans would know how to spell "hors d'oeuvres" in the correct way.
"Whenever I hear the word Dukakis I want to conjugate it."
She advocated "designated drivers who cannot drink. Designated drinkers who cannot drive. And a designated President who will not drive us to drink in the first place."
Promised appointments: Sec. of Defense, Oliver North; Sec. of State, Ross Perot; Sec. of Agriculture, Jessica Lange; Sec. of Entertainment, David Letterman; Head of the EPA, Fawn Hall ("an experienced paper shredder"); White House Chief of Staff, "Elizabeth Taylor Hilton Wilding Todd Fisher Burton Burton Warner almost Luna almost Stein almost Hamilton and possibly Forbes."
In 1988 George H.W. Bush had already served 8 years as Vice-President. In April, 1988 before Bush was nominated for the Presidency, Mrs. Foggybottom suggested he could be her running-mate, "He's very highly qualified. You know he won't interfere in my affairs and he's got extensive experience going to funerals."
George H.W. Bush came across as a very gracious man with a sense of noblesse oblige and demonstrated an ability to laugh at himself more than most Presidents. One likes to think that perhaps he even laughed at Mrs. Foggybottom's VP suggestion. But Mrs. Foggybottom could also be erratic. Right before the election she said "Jack Daniels" was her running-mate, but did not elaborate if she meant the man or the drink.
Election history:
1964 - US Senate (Tex.) (Republican) - defeated
1967-1971 - US House of Representatives (Tex.) (Republican)
1970 - US Senate (Tex.) (Republican) - defeated
1980 - Republican nomination for US President - defeated
1981-1989 - US Vice-President (Republican)
1989-1993 - US President (Republican)
1992 - US President (Republican) - defeated
Other occupations: US Navy (WWII), oil field equipment salesman, oil company executive, Director of the CIA, Chair of the Republican National Committee, US Ambassador to the United Nations
Buried: George H.W. Bush Presidential Library (College Station, Tex.)
Notes:
Supported Goldwater over Rockefeller in 1964.
Supported Nixon over Reagan in 1968.
Bush never got my vote on his 1980-1992 tickets but I do share two very important things with him
and I think of every time I see his image-- both of us were proud to be left-handed broccoli-haters.
Last combat veteran (WWII) to serve as US President.
