Peapod the Pocket Squirrel (Spirit)
VP candidate for Independent (2016)
Running mate with nominee: Robert Norman Ross (1942-1995) (Spirit)
Popular vote: 0 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
Bob Ross, the iconic laid back artist who provided painting lessons on television, filed with the FEC as a member the Communist Party for President on Dec. 22, 2015 with a mailing address in Muncie, Ind. which was indeed the city where his show had been taped for a time. Oh, one important detail to include, Ross had been dead since 1995. The FEC filing was but one of many dozens of decentralized efforts to start a "Bob Ross for President" movement.
Ross' program on PBS, The Joy of Painting (1983-1994) had a rather sedative impact on many viewers. He was very close-mouthed about his private life and had an apolitical image. I recall watching him a few seconds at a time and moving on while I was channel surfing in the 1980s. Captivating he was not, but my lack of interest and perception was my loss I suppose.
Attempting to define his current appeal as a celebrity and Internet meme-- a Mr. Rogers with a paintbrush-- is something I'll leave to popular culture experts. He is certainly more famous now than when he was living. The Ross for President merchandising wave has become a popular commercial industry in the last couple election cycles.
If I had actually stopped to watch Ross for any length of time I might have discovered that he included a virtual menagerie of animals as his co-hosts as he painted landscapes. The most famous of these little buddies was Peapod the Pocket Squirrel who had appeared in the first half of the 1980s.
Although Peapod has passed on, probably before Ross himself died, the artist was a bit circumspect when asked about the fate of his most popular co-host: "Everywhere I go now, people ask me about Peapod the pocket squirrel. You saw him in some of the earlier series, and Peapod, I think I might have mentioned before, he’s grown up and we’ve turned him loose and he’s got his own family now, a little condo in Miami, BMW, car payments every month — same thing we all have, except I don’t have a BMW."
One of the many Bob Ross paraphernalia mongers was a small entity called Happy Little Country, named after one of the artist's catchphrases, e.g. "happy little trees." Their Bob Ross 2016 Facebook page, created Sept. 1, 2016, included this introduction which sums up what others have written concerning the appeal of Ross in Century 21--
About
Happy Little Country exists to paint a better world through levity and kicky design. We create products intended to lighten your existential load.
Additional Information
Happy Little Country is a response to a culture of American acrimony, particularly in an election year that’s turned out to be, well, shall we say, not so happy. Happy Little Country aims to send positive vibes into our culture.
Happy Little Country pays homage to the late, great Bob Ross. There was something in the demeanor of this guru of tranquility that calmed people. He made them feel safe and believed in. We wondered how such a thing could be when the iconic painter never even met most of the people he encouraged week after week via giant televisions in living rooms all across the country. Our conclusion: the dude believed in the goodness of life and others.
At Happy Little County we believe what America needs most are more people like ol’ Saint Bob—people who care about the world and the people who people it, people who believe in the goodness of one another despite their differences. We’re convinced that the man was on to something. We all long for a happy little place, so we decided, à la Bob, to simply create it.
So join the movement! Get your "Campaign" gear here! And Support Bob Ross 2016!!!
Unlike the other Bob Ross retailers, Happy Little Country assigned a running-mate to the ticket-- Peapod the Pocket Squirrel. Peapod's elevation as nominee was announced Oct. 4, 2016.
Needless to say, the reality that both of the individuals on the ticket had been deceased for over a couple decades would have been problematic in the event of their victory on Election Day.
Bob Ross and Peapod merchandise lives on as interest in the artist's life and career continues to rise. Three books about them authored by Robb Pearlman have been published in recent years. Also available are toys of Ross and Peapod.
Election history: none
Other occupations: squirrel
Buried: ?
Notes:
I discovered something I have in common with Bob Ross other than a love for animals. He had a walnut tree in his backyard, as I do now, which he basically surrendered to the neighborhood squirrels, also as I do now.
