Cartoon Characters Who Ran for President, Part Seven: Assorted others

Seems like, at one time or another, any cartoon character that owned a hat threw it into the ring during one presidential contest or another.   Today, let's look at several that never got farther than a few merchandise opportunities:

Bozo the Clown:

Yep, Bozo, the World's Most Famous Clown (according to his own publicity) ran for president in 1984, under the slogan "Put a real Bozo in the White House."   This campaign got as far as a press conference and some buttons and bumper stickers.   Bozo actually had some contacts - he claims he was actually contacted by John F. Kennedy in the 1960's to be part of a national safety campaign but Kennedy's assassination ended the project.

Snoopy:

Never got past some buttons and stickers, usually found in Dolly Madison snack cakes or Weber's bread, and a campaign song.  It's a shame, as Snoopy was not only a World War I veteran (fighting against the Red Baron) but worked with NASA as a safety mascot for the moon landings.   In fact, Snoopy even flew into space - in 1969, the lunar module on Apollo 10 was named Snoopy.   

Alfred E. Newman:

In 2016, Candidate Donald Trump compared Democratic contender Pete Buttigieg to MAD Magazine mascot Alfred E. Neuman.   This was not Alfred's first foray into politics.   Alfred E Neuman ran for president for several years in the magazine's heyday and was a favorite candidate of many high school and college kids, most of which were too young to vote.  You have to love a candidate that can come up with such great talking points as:

• America is on the brink of ruin - Let Alfred finish the job!
• At least he's honest about his idiocy!
• Amid the uncertainty - a voice of confusion!
• If voting could really change things, it would be illegal.
• What - Me Worry?

Dogbert:

Dogbert, from the Dilbert comic strip, was a canine candidate in at least 1992 and 2008.  Probably one of the scariest candidates to ever run for office.

Brain (From Pinky and the Brain)

Pinky and the Brain is the story of two lab mice who, in each episode, execute a nearly-flawless plan for world takeover...   Nearly flawless, as something always stops them at the brink of achieving their goal.   In Meet John Brain, the Brain decides to "play the world's game, politics" and helms a nearly successful campaign for the presidency.  Unfortunately he becomes so overtaken by his popularity that he insists that his public meet him in person.  Once the public discovers he's a mouse, well, it's time to plan for tomorrow night.   Here's a clip from Meet John Brain:

One more entry to go - the story of the little possum from the Okefenokie who jumped in the ring and fell hard!  Tune in later this week!

Campaign 2020 - Cartoon Characters who Ran for President - Part 1

 As Election Day gets closer and the country goes further into turmoil, I thought it might be time to consider some alternatives to the current crop of presidential candidates.  In fact, in the past we've had many cartoon characters run for president and it may be time to resurrect one of them as a presidential candidate.  They would be just as cartoony as the candidates we have now.  So, once a week we'll look back at the various campaigns - perhaps we'll find a likely candidate among them.

Part One:  The Hanna - Barbera Characters

In 1960, Huckleberry Hound took the plunge and through his hat in the ring.  Being one of the first big TV cartoon stars, you would think he'd use the new medium to promote his candidacy.   For some reason, he stuck with more old-fashioned campaigning.   His entire campaign consisted of a record album, a comic book and campaign buttons.   Kennedy learned to utilize television much more effectively and was able to win the presidency from both Huck and Nixon.

         

In 1964, Huckleberry Hound was pushed aside by TWO Hanna -Barbera characters who ran against each other (and Johnson and Goldwater) for the presidency.  Yogi Bear ran against Magilla Gorilla in a hard-hitting campaign that was covered in comic books, records, coloring books and even bubble gum machines.  Strangely, both candidates again eschewed television campaigns despite both having their own television shows at the time.  

Both used top-notch advisors to run their campaigns.   Yogi relied on previous candidate Huckleberry Hound, while Magilla brought in a Washington outsider, Top Cat.   Mirroring the politics of the time, their campaigns cumulated in a Space Race, with both candidates building rocket ships in a race to be the first to the moon.  Unfortunately, come election day they were both stranded on the moon, clearing the way for Johnson to declare victory.

          

     

For those who like something to rally about, here are the campaign songs for both candidates.  Definitely no "I Like Ike" type lyrics...