Carol Ann Doda, August 29, 1937 (Vallejo, Calif.) - November 9, 2015 (San Francisco, Calif.)
VP candidate for Condom Party (aka Least Common Denominator Party) (1988)
Running mate with nominee: Joe Bob Briggs (aka John Irving Bloom) (b. 1953)
Popular vote: 0 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
About three decades ago in those pre-Internet zine-publishing days I had a friendly correspondence with a fellow in Texas who called himself Joe Bob Briggs. He celebrated low-brow junk culture films and had a special affinity for drive-in cinema. "Briggs" was the redneck stage persona of John Irving Bloom. In addition to his newsletter he was a newspaper columnist and was quickly becoming a multimedia personality in 1988. He also decided to run for President that year.
He told the press how he chose the name of his party: "As a preventative measure, I'm running on the Condom Ticket. The slogan is 'I'm not much fun, but if you don't use me, you might get a nasty surprise later.'" In another instance he said he was running under the Least Common Denominator Party.
When asked if the campaign was merely a way to promote his new book, Briggs responded, "That WAS a hysterical coincidence, wasn't it? My new book, A Guide to Western Civilization, or My Story, appeared in the bookstores on the EXACT SAME WEEK I started my campaign. Kinda makes you wonder about God's plan for the universe, don't it?"
He promised that as President he would do "nothing. I would never come out of my trailer house. Your life, liberty and property is safe with me."
He also advocated--
-"Free cable TV for poor people."
-"How to solve the Middle East crisis: Give the Palestinians South Dakota. We aren't using it. We don't need it. And it's an IMPROVEMENT over what they got."
-"Close down Washington and get a cheaper facility-- maybe Heritage Village USA."
-"Here's my idea of a cultural exchange. Take a Sandinista guy who's thinkin' of going Commie. Pay his way to Moscow, Leningrad and Vladivostok. Make sure he sees all the sights. Now pay his way to Vegas, Disney World, the Grand Canyon and Geno's Topless on Harry Hines Boulevard in Dallas. Explain the difference to him. Send him home and FORGET ABOUT HIM."
-He said he would appoint Carl "Action Jackson" Weathers as his Sec. of Defense.
As for a running-mate, Briggs chose Carol Doda, one of the pioneers of topless dancing entertainment. By 1988 Doda was semi-retired as a dancer so perhaps Briggs thought she had time to devote to governing. If she had a response to Briggs' nomination concept I have not found it.
Election history: none
Other occupations: cocktail waitress, topless dancer, film actress, lingerie shop manager
Buried: ?
Notes:
Appeared in the role of Sally Silicone in the 1968 film, Head, starring the Monkees.
