O.O.P.S.: Observing Our Politicians Stumble

The Worst Candidate Gaffes and Recoveries in Presidential Campaigns

Stephen E. Frantzich

• Publisher: Praeger
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781440803130
• eBook ISBN: 9781440803147
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: American Government
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Combining humor and wisdom, this timely volume examines how presidential campaigns can—and often have—become undone by an unguarded comment, an unintentional misrepresentation, or an unwise initiative. Almost every politician has occasionally misspoken, sometimes with disastrous effect, sometimes with little effect at all. O.O.P.S.: Observing Our Politicians Stumble: The Worst Candidate Gaffes and Recoveries in Presidential Campaigns observes and analyzes this phenomenon to document why some gaffes prove fatal while others are easily survived. Combining humor with a thorough knowledge of American politics, author Stephen Frantzich uses detailed vignettes to showcase a wide range of slipups committed by presidential candidates from 1968 through 2008. He looks at what really happened in each case, as well as whether the video and reportage accurately reflected what was said or done. By delving into the reasons the media and the public react to gaffes as they do, this thoroughly entertaining analysis provides fresh insights into the workings of presidential campaigns and the roles of candidates, their handlers, the media, and the voting public, underscoring, among other things, how the media revolution has changed the landscape of presidential campaigns.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• CONTENTS
• Preface
• 1. The Devil Made Me Do It: Seeing the Faults in Others
• 2. Entering the Political Arena: Joining the Gaffe Track
• 3. The Public Gets into the Act: From Private Mistake to Public Embarrassment
• 4. A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste: George Romney (1968)
• 5. For Crying Out Loud: Edmund Muskie (1972)
• 6. 1,000% Dissolution: George McGovern (1972)
• 7. Aw Shucks: Gerald Ford (1976)
• 8. A Ford Not a Lincoln? Gerald Ford (1976)
• 9. Lusting to Be President: Jimmy Carter (1976)
• 10. Purely Stupid Ethnically: Jimmy Carter (1976)
• 11. Don’t Blame Me, Amy: Jimmy Carter (1976)
• 12. Bomb Check: Ronald Reagan (1984)
• 13. Catch Me If You Can: Gary Hart (1988)
• 14. Read My Slips, a Taxing Mistake: George H. W. Bush (1988)
• 15. Tanked: Michael Dukakis (1988)
• 16. Rape Rap: Michael Dukakis (1988)
• 17. Biden Time: Joe Biden (1988)
• 18. Check This Out: George H. W. Bush (1992)
• 19. Watch Out: George H. W. Bush (1992)
• 20. One Potato, Two Potatoe—Spelling Trouble: Dan Quayle (1992)
• 21. I Wonder as I Wander: Elizabeth Dole (2000)
• 22. Soap Box Dirty: George W. Bush (2000)
• 23. Out Sighed Pitch: Al Gore (2000)
• 24. Caught in the Net: Al Gore (2000)
• 25. Not to Be “Misunderestimated”: George W. Bush (2000)
• 26. Mission Accompliced: George W. Bush (2003)
• 27. I Scream, You Scream, We All Heard the Dean Scream: Howard Dean (2004)
• 28. Emerging from the Waffle House: John Kerry (2004)
• 29. Heck of a Job, Georgie: George W. Bush (2005)
• 30. Macaca, Schmacaca: George Allen (2006)
• 31. Bomb, Bomb, Bomb When I Ran: John McCain (2008)
• 32. In the Lying of Fire: Hillary Clinton (2008)
• 33. The Race to the Bottom: Hillary Clinton (2008)
• 34. Stand Up and Stumble: Joe Biden (2008)
• 35. Mis-STATE-ment: Barack Obama (2008)
• 36. Shooting from the Lip: Barack Obama (2008)
• 37. Out of Sight, in the Mind: Sarah Palin (2008)
• 38. Captain May I? Joe Biden (2009)
• 39. Four-Letter Words: Joe Biden (2009)
• 40. Striking Out: Barack Obama (2009)
• 41. The Mother of All Fibs: Barack Obama (2009)
• 42. The Joke’s on Who?
• 43. Year 2012, the Audience Is Waiting
• 44. The Gaffe Goes On: Reflections on the Media
• 45. The Role of Gaffes in Political Debate: Distraction or Enhancement?
• Notes
• Index
• ABOUT THE AUTHOR