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.
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