Campaign 2020: Cartoon Characters Who Ran for President, Part Five and Six

Long before Hilary Clinton stepped onto the political stage, we had two other woman seek the office of Chief Commanding Officer.  These week, we're examining the Presidential campaigns of  two forward-thinking women who sought to break the glass ceiling.

Part 5:  Betty Boop for President!

In 1932, the country was in the midst of the Great Depression.   Incumbent Herbert Hoover was up against Franklin D. Roosevelt and his "New Deal."   Americans may have been ready for something new, and cartoon debutante Betty Boop may have sensed it.   She announced her candidacy in a 1932 promotional film, "Betty Boop For President."

In the film Betty is running not against Roosevelt or Hoover but Mr. Nobody.   Mr. Nobody, in my humble opinion, wins the award for the most honest politician to ever grace a platform, as exhibited by his campaign speech:

Who will make your taxes light?... Mr. Nobody!
Who'll protect the voters' right?... Mr. Nobody!
Should you come home some early dawn,
See a new milkman is on:
Who cares if your wife is gone?... Mr. Nobody!

While they do not appear in the film, Betty momentarily morphs into Hoover and Al Smith.   Al Smith?  Who is Al Smith, you say?  Al Smith was actually the Democratic nominee for president in 1928 and conventional thinking was that he would run again in 1932.  We can assume the cartoon was long into production before Roosevelt was able to clinch the nomination at the 1932 Democratic Convention (on the fourth ballot, for you trivia lovers).

Betty is actually sworn in as president in the film and speaks in front of Congress, depicted as a stable of donkeys and elephants, on her upcoming agenda.  The end of the film, we can assume, was a hint at Betty's next item on her agenda:   Ending Prohibition.  You can watch her entire candidacy in under 7 minutes by clicking below: 

Part 6:   Olive Oyl for President!

The Presidential election of 1948 was considered the greatest upset in the history of Presidential politics, with Harry Truman beating Thomas Dewey despite virtually every poll predicting a Dewey win.   What would have REALLY been an upset is if Olive Oyl had won.   Olive Oyl took a quick dive into politics in the 1948 film "Olive Oyl for President."  This is a bit of a cheater as most of the film is actually a dream Popeye is having, but the film ends with an actual campaign.   You can see a clip below; but I suggest you watch the full film by clicking HERE.

Not to be outdone, Popeye ran for President as well in 1956 in the lackluster film "Popeye for President" (are you noticing a trend here?).  However, Popeye was no match for Adlai Stevenson or winner Dwight Eisenhower.   No need to watch; it is included strictly for archival purposes.

Campaign 2020: Cartoon Characters who Ran for President, parts 3 and 4

We're back, presenting more cartoon characters who ran  for president as an alternate to the current candidates.  This week we have a rodent and a duck.  America is certainly a land of opportunity...

Part Three:  Alvin for President!

Alvin, lead singer for the Chipmunks, ran for president in 1960, beating Kanye West to the punch by sixty years.  According to NEWSWEEK, when candidate John F. Kennedy heard that Alvin had entered the race, he commented, "I'm glad to know I have at least one worthy opponent."

Alvin started his campaign with a campaign song 'Alvin for President" released as a single by Liberty Records.  It was the last Chipmunk single to hit the Billboard top 100.  Alvin followed this up with a comic book and a performance of his campaign song on "The Alvin Show."   Despite Alvin's popularity he was no match for John F., who beat out Alvin, Nixon and Huckleberry Hound (see our previous post for details on Huck's campaign).

Take a listen to Alvin for President:

Part Four:  Daffy Duck for President!

In 1997, the Looney Tunes characters began appearing on US postage stamps.   Daffy Duck decided this would be the perfect year to run for president since, after all, he is already on a stamp.   Chuck Jones contributed to Daffy's campaign with the book "Daffy Duck for President," a children's book that explains the three branches of government. Unfortunately Daffy failed to realize that 1997 was not an election year, so it was all a wasted effort.

Seven years later, Daffy realized that 2004 is divisible by four and that this could be his year.   He produced a film based on his campaign book from 1997, Daffy Duck For President.   The film received minimal play time but must have done some good - He was elected senator.  George Bush took the presidency that year.  Take a look at "Daffy Duck for President."

BONUS:   Here's Alvin's campaign song as performed on The Alvin Show.   Not the best video, but included for archival purposes.

Campaign 2020: Cartoon Characters that ran for President, Part 2

Once again, as a service and a distraction from this year's Presidential campaigns, we offer you some alternatives:  Cartoon Characters who ran for president in the past.   Maybe one of them will appeal to you and the masses...

Part Two:   Winnie the Pooh For President!

Yes, that silly old bear ran for President four times between 1968 and 1980, despite the fact that he is    British-born entity and not eligible for president. I assume he hoped no one would ask to see his birth certificate..  

In 1968, At a special Disney Night at the Hollywood Bowl, Winnie the Pooh announced his first candidacy.  No doubt the audience that night was surprised by this late entry into the presidential race, but Pooh did his best to get his message across.   He did most of his campaigning at the Tomorrowland Terrace stage at Disneyland, where several times a day he would give his campaign speech as part of a Kids of the Kingdom show called "On Stage, USA."   This first campaign would not prove successful as he was edged out by Nixon come election day.  However, Pooh had gotten a taste for politics and recognized that his next campaign would require much larger backing...

1972 looked like it could be Pooh's year.   He had gotten some big endorsements from both Disney and Sears, which backed a massive advertising campaign to get the word out that Pooh was a viable candidate.  They went all out with daily "Pooh for President" parades down Main Street USA in both California and Florida (both key states with massive electoral votes).   They also took a two week whistle-stop train tour of the United States, sponsored by Amtrak, stopping in various places between Los Angeles and Washington D.C.  The train had a special boxcar that converted into a stage.   Pooh could roll into town, give his campaign speech , then quickly roll away to the next town.   

During the train tour, Tigger, Pooh's press secretary, began dropping hints that Owl was being seriously considered as Pooh's running mate.  It was felt that Owl had the attributed necessary to appeal to both left and right wingers.   However, Piglet ended up being the Silly Old Bear's choice for Vice President.  Eeyore became his campaign manager.  Below is some archival footage from Pooh's '72 campaign.

Pooh even held a Children's Party Convention in Walt Disney World, where 50 children (one from each state) and their families were selected to be delegates.   They unanimously selected Pooh as their candidate despite a smear campaign by a rogue heffelump.   

Despite the vigorous campaigning, Nixon again stole the election from Pooh.  Well, there's always next year...

For his 1976 campaign, Pooh enlisted the help of award-winning musician Larry Groce to write his campaign song.   Larry came up with "Pooh for President" and the record was given out at Sears outlets.   The song was even nominated for a Grammy for Best Children's Record.   The song promises honey in every pot, no taxes on toys and snacks for all (finally a campaign I can get behind).   I know you'll want to hear it at least once, so here it is:

Pooh ended losing the Presidency to Jimmy Carter.   At this point, many of Pooh's supporters felt he should hang up his hat and retire.   However, Pooh, like Perot, felt he had one more campaign in him...

In 1980, Pooh ran his campaign in Disneyland. He ran against Captain Hook for his party's endorsement. Disneyland Guests ware encouraged to vote for one or the other, and despite a last-minute effort by Hook to (literally) steal the election, Pooh received the endorsement. However, by this point his election had run out of steam and Ronald Reagan was elected president.

In recent years, there has been some talk about Winnie the Pooh taking another stab at the presidency.  However, recent issues Pooh has had with China's president (see HERE) have probably killed any future campaigns for the time being.   

For much more info on Pooh's campaigns I direct you to the following article by Jim Korkis, just click HERE.