What was THE moment? Who was THE candidate for you?

[Byronic]

The idea for this actually came from a conversation with a greatly disillusioned John McCain supporter. Ordinarily a Democrat he had crossed over to vote for McCain in the Primaries of 2000. Now he is disgusted with the McCain of 2007, but admitted, that the McCain of 2000 remained special to him. The campaign moved him. It was a cherished memory. We all have them, however inexplicable they may be in retrospect. We all have a candidate who moved us, inspired us, like no other.

Some people will be disappointed that their candidate is not running in 2008. For others, the moment they have waited for, perhaps for years, is upon them. We do not always choose successful candidates in primaries, but that does not mean we love them any less. As Bill Clinton said in 2004: "Fall in love in the primaries, then fall in line in November."

So, this thread is for all those brave souls that bore their underbelly to the merciless talons of political opponents and press. The candidates, perhaps not even very successful, who made you feel so much affection for them.

Even after all this time, whose name evokes the warmest feeling in you?

Who was the one, for you? Your favourite candidate of all time?

What was the moment that made a certain candidate forever YOUR candidate?

Perhaps the candidate wasn't even very good. Perhaps they crashed and burned, and you no longer bring them up in political conversations for fear of ridicule, but, for a brief shining moment, they made your pulse race and got you straining every sinew to get them to the White House.

Going right back, did you think Estes Kefauver was the man in 1952, did Adlai make you dream impossible dreams?

Were you hoping LBJ was going to get the nod in 1956 or 1960? Perhaps Stuart Symington was more your man?

Perhaps you witnessed magic in 60 and saw Jack Kennedy in person, or maybe you thought Hubert Humphrey deserved the nod.

In the turbulence of 1968, were you Clean for Gene, or urging Bobby Kennedy to the nomination?

Perhaps 1972 was the campaign that you remember most: Shirley Chisholm, Scoop Jackson, George McGovern, Fred Harris all ran, but perhaps Ed Muskie was the one that got away, much to your anguish?

Well, you get the idea, from Jerry Brown to Howard Dean, Birch Bayh to John Kerry, Ted Kennedy to Gary Hart, Richard Russell to Dennis Kucinich.....who was the one?

[blue neen]

1. I was pretty young at the time, but I can remember hearing Bobby Kennedy

speak and feeling hope for our country again.

His speech after MLK was shot is a classic...

... "In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it is perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in. For those of you who are black - considering the evidence there evidently is that there were white people who were responsible - you can be filled with bitterness, with hatred, and desire for revenge. We can move in that direction as a country, in great polarization - black people amongst black, white people amongst white, filled with hatred toward one another.

Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and to replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand that compassion and love.

For those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and distrust at the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I can only say that I feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man. But we have to make an effort in the United States, we have to make an effort to understand, to go beyond these rather difficult times.

My favorite poet was Aeschylus. He wrote: "In our sleep pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."

What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness, but love and wisdom and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of injustice towards those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black..."

Bobby Kennedy was THE candidate of my lifetime.

[Byronic]

3. That's exactly what I'm looking for

Looking back I could say that Bobby Kennedy would probably be my favorite candidate of all time, in retrospect (I was born in 1978) BUT you lived it, you felt the spark at the time, you were moved and could never forget it. Kennedy 68 will probably forever remain your candidate no matter who runs in the future.

I liked Paul Tsongas in 1991/1992. He inspired me. He didn't win, of course, and was ultimately eclipsed by Bill Clinton. But not in my heart he wasn't. I doubt he ever will be.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. McGovern all the way

the first time I could vote. Even got to see him and shake his hand.

I was taken with Dean's campaign in 2004, and still feel that the MSM had orders to take him out, which they did quite neatly. By the time the primary got to my state, was able to vote for my backup candidate, who is now my primary one: Dennis Kucinich.

[Byronic]

4. Interesting

I wonder how many people will remember the FIRST vote they cast as the unforgettable one for an unforgettable candidate. I must admit I am intrigued as to whether any candidates now regarded by those sniffy historians as 'also-rans' or 'obscure' will be named on this thread.

The heart doesn't deal with minor things such as success or failure.

[justgamma]

5. Bill Clinton

At first he gave me the willies. Then on the Tonight Show, he was asked about the not inhaling thing. He said "I tried, but I choked". Anybody who has tried to inhale a cig for the first time probably did choke, I know I did.
When he played the sax on Arsenio Halls show, I was hooked.

I know those are completely superficial reasons, but they made me sit up a pay attention to what he was saying.

Don't stop thinking about tomorrow!

Here was a real person and I liked that.

[PhilipShore]

6. General Wesley Clark 2004

He is a liberal --- that would of won by huge numbers in 2004. If Gore does not run in 2008, he will be the only Dem qualified to take office, especially in a time of war. He is not a professional politician corrupted by the Military-Industrial-Complex/DLC rigged election system, run by war mongers.

I was just a baby during JFK --- but he would of been the greatest, especially his --- What is a Liberal? --- speech in 1960.


Turn Left: What is a Liberal?
http://www.cjnetworks.com/~cubsfan/whatis.html


What is a liberal?
Sen. John F. Kennedy, acceptance of the New York Liberal Party Nomination, September 14, 1960.

This is an important election -- in many ways as important as any this century -- and I think that the Democratic Party and the Liberal Party here in New York, and those who believe in progress all over the United States, should be associated with us in this great effort.

The reason that Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman and Adlai Stevenson had influence abroad, and the United States in their time had it, was because they moved this country here at home, because they stood for something here in the United States, for expanding the benefits of our society to our own people, and the people around the world looked to us as a symbol of hope.

I think it is our task to re-create the same atmosphere in our own time. Our national elections have often proved to be the turning point in the course of our country. I am proposing that 1960 be another turning point in the history of the great Republic.

[Byronic]

9. Wonderful speech

As far as inspiration goes, JFK is still the one people look to emulate. We see this from Clinton to Kerry to Obama. That must have been quite a ride in 1960.

As far as General Clark goes, you might be lucky of course. You might get chance to get on that rollercoaster once again. See if you can catch lightning in a bottle twice.

[karynnj]

7. Kerry -

Reading Tour of Duty, then seeing the Rassman reunion. All the CSPAN rallies showing only added to this, realizing that he was the first candidate since McGovern I was 100% behind.

[Byronic]

8. Must have been a magic moment

to feel that McGovern feeling again Karynnj. Lets hope you don't have to wait another 32 years to feel it again.

I must say that John Kerry inspired far more people than the media portrayed.

[Blue_In_AK]

13. John Kerry has inspired me, as well, and continues to. n/t

[NewYorkerfromMass]

25. Kerry was the "real deal"

Never questioned how great he was or would be as president.

[MBS]

42. Kerry continues to be an inspiration for me, too

I was your average depressed Democrat until October 2003, when I found myself in the audience of the College Hardball interview with Sen. Kerry. "Oh, God", I thought. "he's the Real Thing!". (And this was BEFORE the "Real Deal" slogan came into use). Since then, my admiration has only growtn: and I continue to be impressed with his intelligence, courage, grit, integrity, and patriotism. Here is a guy who, without question, puts the interests of his country ahead of his own personal ambition. . I think that our country lost, big-time (as Darth Cheney would say), when Kerry "lost" (not) in 2004. We not only got W. another 4 awful years, but we also were deprived of the chance to put a truly first-rate president in the White House. It'a damn shame. Actually, I think it's a tragedy.But I'm so glad he's stil out there fighting for our country.

[whometense]

43. It's

always been Kerry for me.

[AndyTiedye]

10. Never Had One Really

[SaveElmer]

11. Hubert Humphrey...

Originator of the Peace Corps...

Man mostly responsible for reorienting the Democratic Party from states rights to civil rights

Formulated the idea that eventually became Medicare

Crucial to the passage of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights acts of 1964 and 1965...

Greatest U.S. Senator in the 20th Century in my book!!!

[bluehighways911]

12. Bobby

No Doubt. But the reality only lasted a week.

We went to see him land in Chicago. Couldn't get near because of the crowds. So we had to drive home disappointed. I looked over at the car next to me at a stoplight. It was Bobby in the back seat and he smiled and waved.

Nothing can ever top that moment. And about a week later he was gone.

I was probably 10 at the time. In high school I worked for Carter and the victory party was something I will never forget. At least until I attend Obama's.

[Contrary1]

35. Me too.

Back in a much more innocent time, Bobby spoke at one of the bigger
shopping centers here in Indianapolis. We were told to stay behind
the yellow tape.

But, then; just as now, I disregarded "advice" that I felt did not
pertain to me. I was there to shake his hand. And, so I did.

That evening, I wanted to talk to him about the issues of the day. I
got within six feet of his hotel room, before I was stopped.

The next day, we lost Martin. Robert Kennedy...I still miss him.

[LWolf]

14. Dennis Kucinich.

I'd been voting for almost 3 decades, and never voted for anyone I had much enthusiasm for. Voting was uniformly a process of choosing the least bad among bad choices.

My response to the selection of 2000 was to finally, after a lifetime of debating, participating in the democratic process (to a point; never in party politics, as an independent), and tolerating those around me I considered to be politically shallow, I lost my temper. I registered with a party, because I wanted to be part of the process that would choose someone to kick republican ass and return the nation to a state of semi-sanity.

So I began to look at the field. I was open to all. I was impressed by the energy that Dean generated. I'd never even heard of Dennis Kucinich, or really, most politicians outside of my own state. Considering politics to be a dirty, corrupt, weasley process full of people that would happily say anything to "win," I'd kept my distance. When my friend DesertRose asked me to take a look at Dennis Kucinich, I did. Just like I took a look at all the rest, without any political baggage to drag me down. I was surprised. I'd never heard of a politician with such a, frankly, highly evolved point of view.

So I decided to go hear him in person when he came to town. California is a big town, lol, so it took me about 5 hours to drive south to Orange County where he was speaking. I went all by myself, being a lonewolf in real life as well as politically. I hung out on the lawn outside the courthouse steps and observed the people around me, and listened to their conversations. It was refreshing. They were talking about issues of peace, of health, of employment, of environmental responsibility, and other issues of import to me, and, a rare occurrence, they mirrored my own pov. I wandered around the booths, and found organizations to chat with that I respected, and could give my support to.

There was the arrival of Sanchez, and her introduction. Fine. She managed to get elected in Orange County, so there had to be something to respect about her, lol. Then DK stepped up and began speaking. I enjoyed hearing him. I agreed with what he had to say, and found something in my breast demanding to get out. A big WHY????? Why is he so direct about the things that matter, and why do so many of the rest talk in circles with nice soundbites that go nowhere? I was in shock. I didn't know a politician could be real. The last time I heard someone speak that affected me like that I was 11 years old, and Angela Davis was speaking at a women's center in LA.

So, when he was done, we all went into the courtroom. He stood on the steps in the hallway with 20-30 people asking questions. He carefully made sure that no one was left out. When the LaRouche guy showed up, he listened and responded respectfully, and then turned to the next person. When the LaRouche guy began shouting, obviously determined to "crash" the conversation, he calmly, respectfully, and firmly shut him down without batting an eye.

Meanwhile, I'm listening and trying not to let my jaw drag on the ground. The questions were so varied, and he, with no notes, had an intelligent, well-thought out response to all. He referenced great writers, researchers, and leaders in his responses. When it was my turn, I asked the question I knew no one else would. I'm a teacher. Up to this point, he'd just blown me away. But I asked the hard question. I asked him about his support for NCLB. I'm a teacher. He dropped his head a moment, then looked me in the eye and took my hand. He sighed. I don't remember his exact words, but I remember that they were correct. I remember that he had blistering things to say about the high stakes testing portion, and real passion for closing the achievement gap. He talked about the real things he wanted to do to close that gap, within the public ed system, and, tellingly, outside of public ed and in the communities of the have-nots. I thanked him, and he reached out to the next person.

While he was a bare half-inch above my own height, and I was looking him directly in the eyes, I didn't have any sense of short stature. He was a strong, clear presence in the room. He was not intimidated, not angered by LaRouche baiters or tough questions, and met each individual on their own ground, so to speak, in his responses.

The five hour drive home passed in a blur, even through L.A.. It took me several days to get over my sense of shock. I campaigned for him and the day I got to cast my primary vote was the single time in my life to this point that I cast a vote "for" a candidate instead of "against" the opposition.

Since then, I have followed him closely. He has yet to disappoint, unlike virtually every other current candidate in the race for '08.

[Byronic]

15. Thanks

I greatly enjoyed reading that. Your post conveys perfectly the sentiment I was trying to express. To unambiguously vote -passionately and with great enthusiasm- FOR somebody, is a wonderful thing.

[NastyRiffraff]

16. This is an easy one...Howard Dean

I was fairlly knowledgeable, but disgusted with politics in general when the good Doctor came on the scene. I had perused his website, and was impressed, but then I saw him at the DNC meet in DC...and he blew me away. I thought, for the first time that this....this is a man I want as my president.

I wish he could run in '08, but I know that's not possible. Now, I can get really excited about Al Gore, if he chooses to run. But I think we Dems are very lucky to have a fine slate of candidates, any one of whom I'll be proud to vote for. But I still miss Howard Dean's campaign.

[AnnieBW]

17. Paul Tsongas

I really liked him, a lot more than Big Dawg (at first). Goddess rest his budget-balancing soul...

[Jai4WKC08]

19. I really liked Tsongas too, Annie

Never cared much for Clinton at all, and ended up voting for Jesse Jackson in the FL primary altho I voted for Bill in the general of course. I've become much fonder of the Big Dawg in the last four years or so than I ever was while he was in office.

But I can't say I ever got the feeling described in the OP for any candidate until Wes Clark. I was too young for Jack Kennedy, and probably too uninformed for Bobby or George McGovern. Didn't like Jimmy Carter at all, and voted against Reagan in the '80s more than for any of the Dems. Besides, as a member of the military, I tried to stay away from politics except for voting.

Even with Clark, I joined the draft movement just based on his reputation for competence, and knowing we were screwed in Iraq and Afghanistan without someone like him at the helm. After he declared, I got involved with his grassroots because I had sort of sat on the sidelines with Gore, and didn't want to say I hadn't done all I could in 2004.

But I didn't "fall in love" with Clark until I saw the news conference after his Hague testimony. There was something there that led me to believe, this was the president we were promised as kids. A statesman first. And a hero -- in a sense much larger than just the military, altho he was that too. Here was a man who had made history, not just let it happen around him but reached in and grabbed hold and bent history to his will... for all the right reasons, and with all the right results.

Even if Clark never runs for office again, I know that by being a part of his team, I've helped in some small way the good that he continues to do for our country, and for the people of the world. Plus I have a family of Clarkies who are the best. And maybe that's the other part of it -- Clark has built us into a team and a family. That's what real leaders do, of course. But you don't see much of it in politics.

[Bucky]

18. First guy I really worked for was *ahem* Dukakis. But with Wes it was love at first sight

I mean heterosexual not metro manly man-to-man love, of course. And yet I would have his butt baby. Wait, I didn't type that out, did I? Oh, I'm swooning again....

[Byronic]

29. Hey

That's three Tsongas fans on this thread. He was a man who never gave up. God knows what he would have thought of the current regime in the White House. Balancing the budget seems not to even have been considered by them.

It was a great feeling for me when he won New Hampshire in 1992; couldn't believe it when the 'comeback kid' grabbed most of the headlines. I guess he deserved it, and was a fine president, but I felt Tsongas was hard done by. He would have been a good president if fate hadn't intervened. I met him twice. A genuinely nice guy. A real gentleman who actually thought the ideas and plans of a presidential candidate, above the image, was the most important thing in running for president. Having the skills to do the job was just as important as the skills to win an election and charm the media. Imagine that.

[Auntie Bush]

36. That makes two of us!

[Upfront]

20. Easy answer

John Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, Howard Dean.

[LeftishBrit]

21. In the UK, I don't think I've ever had that feeling for a party leader

I would have done so for Clement Attlee, but I think he died before I was born.

Among the party leaders that I remember, I particularly liked Michael Foot (a great person, but sadly an ineffective leader) and John Smith. Apart from that, I've usually been lucky to have MPs that I could vote *for*, rather than just against their opponents: Frank Dobson when I lived in central London, and Evan Harris my current MP in Oxford.

As regards American politics, the one that I remember REALLY liking when he was a candidate was Dukakis! I have an awful lot of respect for Carter, Clinton and Gore, but in all cases, I became more interested in them after they were elected; and in Carter's case, after he left office. I like Kerry, but at the time of the election, it was more 'who can get rid of bloody Bush' and I'd have felt enthusiastic towards a brick if it had been running against Bush, so I wasn't as aware of the Dem candidates as individuals.

[xkenx]

22. Bobby Kennedy and the one person who has inspired me like no one since RFK, Wes Clark

[mnhtnbb]

23. Howard Dean 2003. I was 12 when JFK was killed. I have NEVER

been so enamored of a candidate as I was of Howard Dean. All the years of disappointments--and Bill Clinton was the biggest of them.

I hosted a house party, wrote letters to Iowa & New Hampshire voters, wrote LTTE, met the max in donations, stood outside in freezing weather to gather signatures to put Howard Dean on the primary ballot in NC, blogged. I did everything except go to Iowa.

Then I held my nose and voted for Kerry. But the spark was gone.

I'm not crazy about Edwards, but I like him better than Hillary or Obama.
I've ordered Obama's book, The Audacity of Hope, to find out more about him and what he proposes. If Hillary gets the nomination, I'll have to hold my nose again to vote for her, and I think it will be in vain--particularly if the Repubs put up Hagel. I don't think she has a chance in hell against him, even with Clark as her VP.

[mrgorth]

24. Dean

His speech to the Winter Meeting did it.

[Larry in KC]

26. Never until Wes Clark in late summer 2003

...and I feel as strongly as ever that he HAS to be our next president! OK, and I'll be quite honest with you, again and again and again, when I hear Wes talk or read something else about him, I get a lump in my throat and I get misty-eyed. I'm not young, and I've never had that reaction to another political figure.

[xkenx]

45. My feelings, too, Larry

Maybe it's because the promise for the country that we saw in JFK and RFK, but cut short with their deaths, can finally be realized with Wes C
lark. He has inspired me to be committed and active in a way that I wouln't have guessed.

The absolute clincher for me was Clark's first town hall meeting in Heniker, NH right after the first debate that he was in. That meeting was shown only on CSPAN, and it is since gone from the archives. The man was amazing, a political neophyte handling and connecting with the crowd like Bill Clinton. Answering any and all questions with sincerity, knowledge, compassion. I'll never forget a very hostile question from a woman, now retired from the military, who said that she was a victim of abuse in the military and nothing ever happened to the perpetrator, and what would he, General Clark, do about that? The woman was so upset and hostile, she was shaking. Instead of being defensive or blowing her off, he looked her in the eye and apologized for the military for what happened to her. He asked her if she used the chain of command for redress. She said "yes, but," and Clark said "Didn't work, did it?" "No." Clark went on to explain how they worked very hard in his commands for equality of opportunity, equal treatment, no abuse, etc., but understood that there were still problems, and that, as president, he would work hard with the military to correct the deficiencies. He also volunteered to speak privately with the woman after the meeting to learn more about her situation so that he could help. The woman melted before our eyes! I found out afterwards that Clark met privately with her for 20 min. after the town hall and that her complaint was serious--she had been raped. Instances such as this have convinced me that Wes Clark only needs sufficient exposure to have the following to be elected President. Once people get to know this man's intelligence, character, compassion, integrity, and depth of real world experience, they become dedicated Clarkies.......Ken

[Contrary1]

27. Robert F. Kennedy

No contest. He stoked a feeling in me back in '68 that I hadn't known existed.
I will always believe the entire world would be better off today, if only...

[xkenx]

28. Yes, if only....

I feel the same way, and Wes Clark rekindled the feeling in me. If you don't know Clark well, please take some time to check him out. You tube has some good videos of Clark not covered by the MSM.

[Contrary1]

34. I know Clark well enough...

that he's my first choice. And I will check out the Youtube videos. Thanks.
Here's to Wes! :toast:

[Auntie Bush]

38. Wes Clark is the first politician I ever said I loved!

:loveya: I fell for him while he was on CNN as their Military Analyst. Then when he was on Meet the Press I really fell head over heels for Wes as our next president. The first candidate I ever worked for or donated to was Wes Clark. First one I ever swooned over :evilgrin:

[Stinky The Clown]

30. Omigosh ..... how do I explain **this** one ...... ?

I've been moved by a few .......

John Kennedy .... mainly because of my family. I was a HS Junior when he was shot.

Barry Goldwater. I will not, to this day, apologize for that.

Mario Cuomo. If he ran today, I'm on board.

[FrenchieCat]

31. When Wes Clark defended Michael Moore......on National TeeVee

at a time when Moore was been treated like a pariah by everyone, including most Democrats.

This was in early 2003, while we had just started fighting the war, and Michael Moore had just made his "shocking" anti bush Oscar acceptance speech. This was before the Dixie Chicks....or around the same time.

It showed me that certain people are willing to put their own life long reputation at stake as long as they are feel that doing so agrees with the tenent of what they believe in.

It's called doing the brave thing at a possible cost.

this is one of the reasons that Michael Moore later endorsed Clark's candidacy...because Moore understood better than anyone else what it all really meant, as he himself had lived it first hand.

For those who forgot what Michael Moore said at those oscar, here's the footage.
http://www.vsocial.com/video/?d=51866

[Lydia Leftcoast]

32. When I moved to Minneapolis in August 2003, I decided that

I would go see every presidential candidate who made a public appearance in the Twin Cities.

As luck would have it, the first one was Dennis Kucinich, and a couple of local DUers (dpbrown and wheresthemind) urged me to go see him speak at Central High School in St. Paul.

I did, and by the end of the speech I was in tears. Here was a politician actually SAYING the things that I had been thinking (and not seeing validated in the corporate media) for 25 years.

I went to the next volunteers' meeting, and within a couple of weeks I was leafletting at the Minnesota State Fair.

By the way, I was willing to hear other candidates, but for months, none of them made any local public appearances that were free and open to the public, only limited appearances for major contributors.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

33. Gene McCarthy, George McGovern, Wes Clark.

And then there's Paul Wellstone. All amazing, courageous people.

[PassingFair]

37. What I wanna KNOW.....

Howard Dean, of course.

He took my breath away with his truthfulness.

He still inspires me with his tireless work ethic.

He's the REAL DEAL.

[Bonobo]

39. Dukakis in 88. Stopping Bush 1 would have changed everything.

My heart was so into that campaign. and then it broke. I never saw things quite the same after that Willie fucking Horton add and the crap about Boston harbor.

[Superman Returns]

40. The first time I got to vote was for Kerry in 04

Being able to vote for the first time was amazing, especially after following politics all these years.

But this is the first time I have "The Candidate." And his name is Barack Obama.

[radfringe]

41. I'm still waiting

The first presidential election I was old enough to vote in was 1976 Carter/Ford campaign...

I wasn't impressed

1980 - Reagan/Carter... sigh...

1984 - Reagan/????... yawn...

1988 - Bush/Dukakis... groan....

1992 - Bush/Clinton... better than another freaking 4 years of bush....

1996 - Clinton/Dole... not Dole....

2000 - Gore/Bush-2.... AHHHHHH - not more bushit!...

2004 - Bush-2/Kerry... anyone but bush....

2008 - still waiting to be inspired....

[derby378]

44. In 2003-2004 it was Howard Dean; in 2006 it was Russ Feingold

Now the rest of them have to earn my trust and my vote. I am leaning more towards Al Gore than anyone else because he actually won in 2000, but if he backs out, maybe I'll back Obama. Nobody's getting a free ride from me.