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.
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.
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...
Happy New Year 2020! My new year's resolution is to spend some time on this blog again. To celebrate, here's an oddity - a Popeye cartoon without any violence! From 1938, here's a clip from Let's Celebrake with Popeye, Bluto and Olive. Be sure to search out the whole cartoon on DailyMotion!
I've mentioned this on this blog before, but it's time to mention it again: Any food I like will not be around long. It's a special curse that I endure, punishment for some past transgression that I can't recall. Maybe it was pulling the "Do Not Remove" tag from my couch; maybe it was not washing my hands before leaving a restroom (I was just in there to comb my hair, I swear) but this curse has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, leaving a path of discontinued food products in its wake. Quisp cereal, Delaware Punch, Fizzers candy, Chocolate Zingers and Mother's Raisin cookies are among the products I can no longer find (or find very hard to obtain). And now, I find the curse has reached back to victimize a product over 100 years old. I refer, of course, to Necco Wafers.
Necco Wafers were founded in 1847 by Oliver Chase, who invented the first automated machine to produce lozenges for medicinal purposes. He eventually discovered the machine could also produce lozenge-sized candy wafers, which became the top product of the New England Confectionery Company, abbreviated NECCO. The wafers became extremely popular in the intervening years due to their durability. Admiral Byrd brought over two tons of wafers with him on a two year expedition to the Antarctic. During World War Two, the US government bought Necco Wafers to send to the troops oversees. They found that the candy would not melt or break while being shipped overseas. The soldiers returning from WWII eventually became a fan base that continued for many years.
In recent years, the company has experimented with the product, with some success and some misses. Lime flavor wafers were eliminated, and a move to more natural flavors and colors was among the missteps. The company has since returned to the original formulations.
Necco wafers is one of those candies that fall in the same group as Candy Corn - some people love them, while a large population find them revolting. Many people feel Necco wafers taste like colored chalk, while others call them "Plaster Surprise." Personally, I have always had a fondness for Necco Wafers, although I avoid the clove, cinnamon, licorice and wintergreen flavors. (May I also add that I find Candy Corn revolting. No room for debate there)
I recently discovered that NECCO produces Tropical Necco Wafers. This pack, introduced in 2012, contains mango, passion fruit, banana, strawberry, coconut and the long-missed lime wafers. I found these to be an exceptional treat, and will eat all the flavors except coconut. I have been buying several packs of these whenever I find them. Of course, I should have seen it coming... They won't be around long.
According to this article, the NECCO company may close within the next 30 days if a buyer cannot be found. This would mean the layoff of almost 400 employees, plus an end to the Necco wafers we all know and some of us love. Not a Necco Wafer fan? Well, maybe you'll be more interested to learn about another candy that NECCO started producing in 1902, and since that time has become a holiday institution. But more on that next week.
Currently, the public at large is reacting as we would expect - they are panicking. Retailers are reporting a huge spike in sales for Necco Wafers. Not wanting to be left out, I am off to find some Necco Tropical wafers. I will place them in the underground bunker where I store cases of Quisp cereal, Screaming Yellow Zonkers, Swenson's Ice Cream, Ramblin' Root Beer and other products that have been the victim of my special curse. Tune in next week to learn about the OTHER candy that you are going to want to start buying. Like them or not, it will be a tradition you'll be sorry to lose...
