So much media coverage of the election season places so much empahsis on winning the election (weird, right?). However, we forget that sometimes, the losers aren't actually all that bad. Sure, many become the punch line of Jon Stewart jokes or fall victim to scandals and career-ending gaffes. But few stand out as mildly successful people, whose triumphs should be noted - but don't go overboard with your celebration, they are still losers, after all. What follows is my top five collection of "mildly successful" characters in political history:
5. Barry Goldwater
Known as Mr. Conservative, Goldwater was the voice of the political right during the tumultuous 60s, and his book The Conscience of a Conservative became the go-to manual for many conservative think-tanks. However, despite a quite successful career in the US Legislature, he was done in by a Johnson campaign ad that forever linked him to nuclear war. What makes him stand out is his unusual libertarian stance on social issues (he supported the gay rights movement and spoke out in favor of abortion), uncommon amongst conservatives of his time. These beliefs ultimately ended his career in Congress, in favor of John McCain, the maverick of the Republican Party.
4. Stephen Douglas
An eloquent statesman from the state of Illinois, Douglas was an active participant in the years leading up to the Civil War, advising on crafting the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska act. However, the "Little Giant" ultimately fell on the wrong side of the "Apollo Creed/ Rocky" metaphor, as America's hero Abraham Lincoln, towering 6 feet 4 inches, made the 5-foot-4-inch Douglas scream "uncle" like a little girl in the 1858 senatorial debates, then returned to the political scene two years later to finish the business he started - winning the presidency from the his newly neutered opponent. Adding more shame to poor old Douglas, Lincoln's first act as president mandated all dictionaries to put Douglas's portrait next to the definition of "choke."
3. Eugene Debs
Euguene Debs clearly was a man who did know when it was time to just let something go. Sure, when he brought up these abstract issues of "workers' rights" and "peace and prosperity," it was worth entertaining for a little while. But he really started to be annoying in 1912, when he ran again and actually earned himself over a million votes. In 1916, Debs' political clout was diminishing and was a no-factor in that presidential election against incumbent Woodrow Wilson. However, he continued to be a thorn in Wilson's side, and eventually the Jersey Shore star had enough of Debs' crap and decided to throw him in jail (under the technicality of the Espionage Act, but we ALL know the true story). But like that annoying choo-choo from "The Little Engine That Could," Debs ran one more time in 1920 - this time from his jail cell. What a prick.
2. Al Gore
Al Gore played an active role in the Clinton administration, championing the “reinventing government” motion (most famous for Gore driving forklifts full of government regulations). He also became quite popular for his efforts to raise public awareness for man-bear-pigglobal warming in his documentary An Inconvenient Truth. But let’s get to the REAL reason why we love him: Despite winning the electoral vote (he totally won Florida, I swear) and the popular vote, Al Gore lost the election not in the polls, but in the Supreme Court, where the justices voted along party lines to halt the Florida recount and hand the election to George W. Bush. I celebrate Al Gore getting ripped off in the election by denying him the top spot in my list of Presidential Losers.
1. Ross Perot
Many third party candidates use elections to raise awareness for their issues, but none have actually influenced an election like Ross Perot. A self-made billionaire, Perot joined the 1992 election process and immediately filled the media vacuum, with a main campaign focus on budget balancing. During the summer months, he nearly held 40 percent of the national polls – unheard of for such a dark horse. However, his eccentricity, need for total control in his campaign and the threat of a scandal forced him to drop out of the race and then reenter a month before election day. Despite his flip-flopping, he earned 18 percent of the vote – taking away many votes that would have given Bush Sr. the election and paving the way for the Clinton administration.