Number 5: "The Dean Scream"
We can all get a little excited…this political blunder might also rank as the number 1 political blunder that wasn't. After losing the Iowa Democratic Caucuses, Howard Dean delivered an impassioned concession speech, that involved a shrill, somewhat girly bellow that was at worst a little unpresidential. Yet, the popular media played and replayed this unfortunate display of emotion…and collectively, Democrats decided that the White House wasn't the place for dudes who sometimes yelp.
Number 4: Memorial service becomes Mondale's political funeral
Shortly before the U.S. Senate elections of 2002, Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone perished in a plane crash in the northern part of the state. At a memorial service organized by the Democratic party in Minneapolis, the atmosphere seemed to many to be more like a political rally for Wellstone's replacement Walter Mondale than a tribute to the departed senator. Then CNN himbo Tucker Carlson criticized the event, and Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura stormed out.
Mondale went on to lose the senate seat, and continues to fear getting a surprise body slam from Jesse "The Body".
Memorial services don't make for good political rallies. Just ask this guy...
Number 3: Dukakis' tank trip missfire
During the presidential election campaign of 1988, Democratic hopeful Michael Dukakis staged a photo op at a General Dynamics plant in Michigan in hopes of countering the perception that he would be soft on defence in the oval office. The footage of the diminutive Dukakis commandeering an Abrams tank had an effect that was opposite to the one intended, and the footage was featured in one of George H.W. Bush's attack ads
"Dukakis in the tank" remains shorthand for backfired public relations outings in political circles.
Number 2: "Bush in the flight suit"
Ok, Jr didn't lose an election over this…but this is still one of the gaffiest of political gaffe's. It also required some balls; if you've effectively dodged service in Vietnam by being in the Air National Guard, you might not want to remind people by landing on the deck of an aircraft carrier in a fighter jet and struting to the podium to deliver a speech in a flight suit in the midst of a war. Even better, to boldly have displayed a banner in the background that read "mission accomplished" was akin to calling a presidential election during the primaries.
Bush spinmeister Ari Fleischer had claimed that the "Mission Accomplished" banner was the Navy's idea.
Number 1: The Trouble With Sarah
Where to start…$150 000 in clothing bills, a campaign team and a candidate that sometimes went "rogue", a penchant for not preparing for key interviews, an alleged lack of knowledge about geography (believing Africa was a country) and an overall aura of being intellectually "incurious".
If ever a candidate could have used a "do over" it was in John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate in the 2008 presidential campaign. This maverick move at first ignited his campaign…but then the interviews started. When people started to seriously consider the potential of a President Palin, a lot of feet got cold.
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