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.
