The Ten Worst Running Mates In Presidential History
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Lincoln Republican
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« on: April 06, 2017, 10:03:48 AM »

The Ten Worst Running Mates In Presidential History

1.  Thomas Eagleton
2.  John Edwards
3.  John C Calhoun
4.  Geraldine Ferraro
5.   Aaron Burr
6.   William E Miller
7.   Dan Quayle
8.   Admiral James Stockdale
9.   Spiro Agnew
10.  Sarah Palin

https://www.buzzfeed.com/whoiswillo/the-ten-worst-running-mates-in-presidental-history-6o16

Agree? 

Disagree? 

Anyone have others to add to this list?

Are there any on this list who do not belong on the list?
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MAINEiac4434
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« Reply #1 on: April 06, 2017, 10:29:58 AM »

Edwards turned out to be a creep, but no one knew he was at the time. His debate with Cheney was cringeworthy, though.

Palin is first. It's not even a question. Quayle is second, Eagleton is next. I think Ferraro gets a tough break.
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publicunofficial
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« Reply #2 on: April 06, 2017, 01:12:11 PM »

I wonder how the Eagleton scandal would be handled today. Granted in today's world getting electro-shock therapy for depression would probably never happen.
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Lincoln Republican
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« Reply #3 on: April 06, 2017, 06:17:21 PM »

I wonder how the Eagleton scandal would be handled today. Granted in today's world getting electro-shock therapy for depression would probably never happen.

It would certainly have lit up Twitter and Facebook, no doubt about that.
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Pericles
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« Reply #4 on: April 09, 2017, 01:30:09 AM »

Is this worst in terms of worst electorally or worst as in worst people to choose as Vice-President and just all round bad choices?
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MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!
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« Reply #5 on: April 09, 2017, 05:01:37 AM »

As Nixon once said (I can't find the exact quote, so I'm quoting from memory) a running-mate can't really help the ticket, so it's paramount she or he won't hurt it.

In this regard, I don't think people like Agnew, Palin, or Quayle actually hurt their respective tickets. Folks like Miller simply made no difference. Miller was picket because it was a hopeless adventure and no other politician wanted to run with Goldwater. Ferraro, while a poor pick in short term, had a positive longterm effect on Democratic base.

It's funny most of these picks looked wonderful on paper.
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Mr. Smith
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« Reply #6 on: April 09, 2017, 11:53:22 AM »
« Edited: April 09, 2017, 12:22:55 PM by L.D. Smith »

Grant Davis overall.

Curtis LeMay for hand-picked.

Others: Sarah Palin, John Sparkman, Joe Lieberman, John Calhoun, Pierce's VP, Dan Quayle, James Stockdale, and Aaron Burr.
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Lincoln Republican
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« Reply #7 on: April 09, 2017, 08:44:46 PM »
« Edited: April 11, 2017, 09:37:53 PM by Lincoln Republican »

Is this worst in terms of worst electorally or worst as in worst people to choose as Vice-President and just all round bad choices?
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Skill and Chance
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« Reply #8 on: April 09, 2017, 10:03:59 PM »

No one has even mentioned Andrew Johnson.  Unless you believe having him on the ticket was the only way Lincoln could get enough votes to win in 1864, that was an absolute disaster.
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LastMcGovernite
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« Reply #9 on: May 16, 2017, 12:31:50 PM »

If we limit our gaze to veeps selected by the candidate him/herself (so essentially Henry Wallace and afterward...). I'm including major parties and the most significant third-party races.

1. Curtis LeMay (Dangerous, trigger-happy maniac)
2. Dan Quayle (Ignorant and Overprivileged)
3. Sarah Palin (Ignorant and Unprepared)
4. Admiral Stockdale ("Who Am I?")
5. Tom Eagleton (as a McGovern biographer, I actually think he could have handled the job psychologically. It's his putting his own reputation above the party and telling Novak anonymously that McG was the "Acid, Amnesty, and Abortion" candidate that makes me think he would have been a poor veep.)
6. William E. Miller (a nonentity who struggled mightily with alcoholism)
7. Joe Lieberman (a historic choice, but unctuous. A poor choice for a ticket already lacking charisma)
8. Fielding Wright (not quite as crazy-ass racist as Thurmond, but somebody who isn't going to enhance the Dixiecrats' already-limited appeal)
9. Patrick Choate
10. Spiro Agnew (not ready, borderline joke candidate, engaged in crime and covered it up poorly)


Nobody asked, but if you applied the same criteria to pick the best 10 running mates- in terms of helping the ticket win or at least come closer to winning:

1. LBJ (maybe the only veep pick that swung an election)
2. Mike Pence (to paraphrase Lady Gaga, white evangelicals had a million reasons to walk away from Trump, but needed only one to stay. Pence gave them that one reason.)
3. Glen Taylor (because if you're Henry Wallace, you obviously want a singing cowboy on your ticket)
4. Ed Muskie (if the election took place a week earlier or a week later, we'd be praising this as a brilliant choice today. Muskie was the embodiment of the American dream and was called "Lincolnesque" back in the day. My Polish grandparents adored him.)
5. Pat Lucey (a great governor who gave Anderson's 1980 ticket wider appeal.)
6. Walter Mondale (helped solidify Carter's shaky relationship with wary liberals.)
7. George HW Bush (helped solidify Reagan's shaky relationship with country-club Republicans)
8. Lloyd Bentsen (gets a spot purely for delivering the best one-liner in US debate history.)
9. Joe Biden (look at last November to see what happens when your ticket can't appeal to blue-collar Rust Belters.)
10. Al Gore (added Washington experience, contributed to a Baby Boomer, New South ticket)
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Kingpoleon
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« Reply #10 on: May 21, 2017, 08:14:44 PM »

Stockdale is sadly underestimated.
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Lincoln Republican
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« Reply #11 on: May 25, 2017, 10:36:28 AM »
« Edited: May 25, 2017, 11:27:49 AM by Lincoln Republican »

Quote from the article:

Bill Miller wasn't a bad choice for a running mate. He had prosecuted Nazis during the Nuremberg trials. He was a former New York State Attorney General, a U.S. Congressman and was head of the Republican National Committee when he was selected as Barry Goldwater's running mate.

(Actually he was not New York State Attorney General, rather he was district attorney of Niagara County, New York )

I would like to make a case for William E Miller, Republican VP candidate in 1964.

He had some solid qualifications, a law degree, served honorably in the military as an officer, legal experience, political experience, and even prosecuted Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg.

He may not have helped the ticket, but neither was he detrimental to the ticket. Goldwater himself was the biggest drag on the ticket.

I do not believe that Miller belongs on the list.
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SingingAnalyst
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« Reply #12 on: May 25, 2017, 03:06:13 PM »

If we limit our gaze to veeps selected by the candidate him/herself (so essentially Henry Wallace and afterward...). I'm including major parties and the most significant third-party races.

1. Curtis LeMay (Dangerous, trigger-happy maniac)
2. Dan Quayle (Ignorant and Overprivileged)
3. Sarah Palin (Ignorant and Unprepared)
4. Admiral Stockdale ("Who Am I?")
5. Tom Eagleton (as a McGovern biographer, I actually think he could have handled the job psychologically. It's his putting his own reputation above the party and telling Novak anonymously that McG was the "Acid, Amnesty, and Abortion" candidate that makes me think he would have been a poor veep.)
6. William E. Miller (a nonentity who struggled mightily with alcoholism)
7. Joe Lieberman (a historic choice, but unctuous. A poor choice for a ticket already lacking charisma)
8. Fielding Wright (not quite as crazy-ass racist as Thurmond, but somebody who isn't going to enhance the Dixiecrats' already-limited appeal)
9. Patrick Choate
10. Spiro Agnew (not ready, borderline joke candidate, engaged in crime and covered it up poorly)


Nobody asked, but if you applied the same criteria to pick the best 10 running mates- in terms of helping the ticket win or at least come closer to winning:

1. LBJ (maybe the only veep pick that swung an election)
2. Mike Pence (to paraphrase Lady Gaga, white evangelicals had a million reasons to walk away from Trump, but needed only one to stay. Pence gave them that one reason.)
3. Glen Taylor (because if you're Henry Wallace, you obviously want a singing cowboy on your ticket)
4. Ed Muskie (if the election took place a week earlier or a week later, we'd be praising this as a brilliant choice today. Muskie was the embodiment of the American dream and was called "Lincolnesque" back in the day. My Polish grandparents adored him.)
5. Pat Lucey (a great governor who gave Anderson's 1980 ticket wider appeal.)
6. Walter Mondale (helped solidify Carter's shaky relationship with wary liberals.)
7. George HW Bush (helped solidify Reagan's shaky relationship with country-club Republicans)
8. Lloyd Bentsen (gets a spot purely for delivering the best one-liner in US debate history.)
9. Joe Biden (look at last November to see what happens when your ticket can't appeal to blue-collar Rust Belters.)
10. Al Gore (added Washington experience, contributed to a Baby Boomer, New South ticket)

^^^ Agree. Curtis LeMay did nothing to broaden G. Wallace's appeal. I disliked the Palin pick from the start, and it's a big reason McCain lost (though it sure jump-started Tina Fey's career). Disagree with Joe Lieberman; I though he was a good choice. Sadly, this election-- in which Lieberman was liked by Evangelicals and supported school vouchers-- was the death knell for the Democrats having any chance among political Evangelicals. I predict even if Manchin runs in 2020, Evangelicals even in West Virginia won't vote for him (though I still would like to see this happen).
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Kingpoleon
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« Reply #13 on: June 02, 2017, 02:08:22 PM »

Picking Johnson actually hurt Kennedy in Texian polls.
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dw93
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« Reply #14 on: June 04, 2017, 02:01:43 AM »

I can only go by 1960 onwards so here it goes:

Top Ten Worst:

1. Thomas Eagleton
2. Sarah Palin
3. Curtis Lemay
4. Dan Quayle
5. Spiro Agnew
6. Geraldine Ferraro
7. Joe Liebermann
8. James Stockdale
9. Bob Dole (for his "Democrat Wars" comment)
10. Tim Kaine (he didn't really hurt the ticket, but he didn't help either and made a buffoon of himself in the debate with Pence. He also reinforced the notion that Clinton was too establishment)

Top Ten Best:

1. Walter Mondale
2. LBJ
3. Al Gore
4. George HW Bush
5. Joe Biden
6. Mike Pence (as someone else said, he gave Trump the Evangelical Vote. Another VP might've lost Trump the election)
7. Dick Cheney (for all the man's evil deeds and faults, he did help Bush in 2000 and it was seen as a respectable choice on both sides of the isle at the time)
8. Hubert Humphrey
9. Edmund Muskie
10. Jack Kemp
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« Reply #15 on: June 04, 2017, 03:21:16 AM »

Will do this from 1932, and will only do Republican and Democratic Candidates

1. Thomas Eagleton
2. John Edwards
3. Dan Quayle
4. Sarah Palin
5. Geraldine Ferraro
6. Sargent Shriver
7. John Sparkman
8. William Miller
9. Joe Lieberman
10. Paul Ryan(Probably cost Romney Florida)
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Obama-Biden Democrat
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« Reply #16 on: June 04, 2017, 07:26:23 PM »

One could argue that George W Bush was president Cheney's VP in 2004, so he would easily be #1 in worst running mates in history.
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Lincoln Republican
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« Reply #17 on: June 04, 2017, 08:25:08 PM »

I can only go by 1960 onwards so here it goes:

Top Ten Worst:

1. Thomas Eagleton
2. Sarah Palin
3. Curtis Lemay
4. Dan Quayle
5. Spiro Agnew
6. Geraldine Ferraro
7. Joe Liebermann
8. James Stockdale
9. Bob Dole (for his "Democrat Wars" comment)
10. Tim Kaine (he didn't really hurt the ticket, but he didn't help either and made a buffoon of himself in the debate with Pence. He also reinforced the notion that Clinton was too establishment)

Top Ten Best:

1. Walter Mondale
2. LBJ
3. Al Gore
4. George HW Bush
5. Joe Biden
6. Mike Pence (as someone else said, he gave Trump the Evangelical Vote. Another VP might've lost Trump the election)
7. Dick Cheney (for all the man's evil deeds and faults, he did help Bush in 2000 and it was seen as a respectable choice on both sides of the isle at the time)
8. Hubert Humphrey
9. Edmund Muskie
10. Jack Kemp


Nice to see you did not include William E. Miller on the "worst" list.
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Sumner 1868
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« Reply #18 on: June 04, 2017, 10:04:59 PM »

1. John C. Calhoun
2. John C. Breckenridge
3. John Tyler
4. Joseph Lane
5. Andrew Johnson
6. Curtis Lemay
7. Allen G. Thurman
8. John Sparkman
9. Spiro Agnew
10. Theodore Roosevelt
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Middle-aged Europe
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« Reply #19 on: June 05, 2017, 02:08:47 PM »
« Edited: June 05, 2017, 02:21:15 PM by Chairman of the 2024 Trump campaign for Russian president »

The day Romney chose Ryan I knew in my gut he wasn't going to win. Ryan was the reason why Kathy Hochul won that deep red special election in 2011. What did he bring to the ticket? Young people? lol

Bodybuilders probably voted for Romney because of Ryan.



Or maybe not...

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dw93
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« Reply #20 on: June 05, 2017, 09:30:41 PM »

I can only go by 1960 onwards so here it goes:

Top Ten Worst:

1. Thomas Eagleton
2. Sarah Palin
3. Curtis Lemay
4. Dan Quayle
5. Spiro Agnew
6. Geraldine Ferraro
7. Joe Liebermann
8. James Stockdale
9. Bob Dole (for his "Democrat Wars" comment)
10. Tim Kaine (he didn't really hurt the ticket, but he didn't help either and made a buffoon of himself in the debate with Pence. He also reinforced the notion that Clinton was too establishment)

Top Ten Best:

1. Walter Mondale
2. LBJ
3. Al Gore
4. George HW Bush
5. Joe Biden
6. Mike Pence (as someone else said, he gave Trump the Evangelical Vote. Another VP might've lost Trump the election)
7. Dick Cheney (for all the man's evil deeds and faults, he did help Bush in 2000 and it was seen as a respectable choice on both sides of the isle at the time)
8. Hubert Humphrey
9. Edmund Muskie
10. Jack Kemp


Nice to see you did not include William E. Miller on the "worst" list.

Goldwater was doomed to defeat no matter what and Miller really didn't do anything to hurt the ticket. The others mentioned in my "worst" list did.
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Lord Wreath
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« Reply #21 on: August 27, 2017, 07:06:43 PM »

The choice of Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. proved to be questionable. Maybe not a disaster per se, but it definitely precluded the choice of a much stronger candidate who could have helped Nixon carry more sates; maybe a Ford or a Rockefeller.
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Kingpoleon
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« Reply #22 on: September 07, 2017, 09:08:46 PM »

The choice of Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. proved to be questionable. Maybe not a disaster per se, but it definitely precluded the choice of a much stronger candidate who could have helped Nixon carry more sates; maybe a Ford or a Rockefeller.
Lodge was a statesman, not completely suitable to be an attack dog or a guard.
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Statilius the Epicurean
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« Reply #23 on: September 07, 2017, 11:54:12 PM »

Palin was a great pick by McCain and might have won him the election if the financial crisis didn't happen.
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