Introduction : crisis points in modern presidential election
Truman on civil rights : President Harry Truman's special message to Congress on civil rights, February 2, 1948
McCarthy at the 1952 Republican National Convention : Senator Joseph McCarthy's Election of 1952
Truman on civil rights : President Harry Truman's special message to congress on civil rights, February 2, 1948
McCarthy at the 1952 Republican National Convention : Senator Joseph McCarthy's address to the Republican National Convention, July 9. 1952
Eisenhower at the 1952 Republican National Convention : General Dwight D. Eisenhower's address accepting the presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention, July 11, 1952
A promise, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Earl Warren : memorandum from President Eisenhower to Attorney General Herbert Brownell Jr., August 5, 1953
Nixon's "Checkers" speech : television address by Richard Nixon, September 23, 1952
Eisenhower and desegregation : the President's news conference, August 8, 1956
Eisenhower and the Suez Crisis : the President's new conference, August 8, 1956
Eisenhower, Nixon, and the U2 spy plane incident : telegram from the Embassy in the Soviet Union to the Department if State, Moscow, 7:00 p.m., May 9, 1960
Nixon's fifty-state pledge : Richard Nixon's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, July 28, 1960
Kennedy's religion speech : John F. Kennedy's speech on religious bigotry to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association, September 12, 1960
Kennedy, Nixon, and the first televised presidential debate : stills from the Nixon-Kennedy debate, September 26, 1960
"Nixon's experience?" ad : anti-Richard Nixon campaign ad, 1960
Rockefeller on Goldwater's extremism : Nelson Rockefeller's remarks to the Republican National Convention, July 14, 1964
Goldwater's rejoinder to Rockefeller : Barry Goldwater's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, July 14, 1964
"Peace little girl" ("Daisy girl") ad : campaign ad for Lyndon B. Johnson by the Democratic National Committee, September 7, 1964
Goldwater's sanity : "1,189 psychiatrists say Goldwater is psychologically unfit to be president!", FACT Magazine, September 1964.
Wallace's Third-Party run : Stand Up for America, George Wallace campaign brochure, 1968
RFK announces his candidacy : Robert F. Kennedy's announcement of candidacy for president, March 16, 1968
LBJ not seeking reelection : President Lyndon B. Johnson's remarks on decision not to seek reelection, March 31, 1968
RFK and MLK : Robert F. Kennedy relaying news of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., April 4, 1968
Ted Kennedy on Robert's death : Ted Kennedy's address at the public memorial service for Robert F. Kennedy, June 8, 1968
Nixon's campaign against the Warren Court : Richard Nixon's acceptance speech at the 1968 Republican National Convention, august 8, 1968
Ribicoff, "Gestapo tactics in the streets of Chicago!" : Abraham Ribicoff's speech nominating George McGovern for the U.S. Presidency, August 28, 1968
McGovern-Fraser Commission Report : report for the Democratic National Committee by the McGovern-Fraser Commission, 1971
Muskie and the Manchester Union leader : Don Nicoll's interview with Tony Podesta, February 1972
Attempted assassination of Wallace : "Wallace shooting, a campaign altered by violence," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report (May 20, 1972), May 15, 1972
Nixon and the Watergate scandal : final report of the Senate Select committee on Presidential Campaign Activities (June 1974), June 17, 1972
McGovern and the Eagleton affair : excerpts from Thomas Eagleton's press conference, Custer, South Dakota, July 25, 1972
Ford pardons Nixon : President Gerald Ford's announcement of Nixon's pardon, September 8, 1974
"To restore America" : Ronald Reagan's speech at t he Republican National Convention, March 31, 1976
"Bio" ad, The Man from Plains : campaign ad for Jimmy Carter, 1976
The gaffe heard around the world : the second Carter-Ford presidential debate, October 6, 1976.
Carter's "crisis of confidence" speech : address to the Nation on the energy situation, July 15, 1979
Ted Kennedy's "Mudd moment," : excerpt from Roger Mudd's memoir The Place to Be (2008), November 4, 1979
Failed rescue mission : President Jimmy Carter's address to the Nation on the failed attempt to rescue American Embassy hostages held in Iran, April 25, 1980
"The dream will never die" speech : Senator Ted Kennedy's address to the Democratic National Convention, August 12, 1980
"Are you better off than you were four years ago?" : the second Carter-Reagan presidential debate, October 28, 1980
Mondale and paying higher taxes : Walter Mondale's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, July 19, 1984
Reagan's age issue : the second Reagan-Mondale presidential debate, October 21, 1984
"Morning in America" ad : campaign ad for Ronald Reagan, 1984
Hart and Donna Rice : "Newspaper stakeout infuriates Hart, report on female house guest called 'character assassination, '" James R. Dickenson and Paul Taylor, Washington Post, May 4, 1987
Bush's "read my lips" pledge : George Bush's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, August 18, 1988
Dukakis and the "tank ride" ad : anti-Michael dukakis campaign ad, 1988
"Senator, you are no Jack Kennedy" : Bentsen-Quayle vice presidential debate, October 5, 1988
Dukakis and the death penalty question : the second Bush-Dukakis presidential debate, October 13, 1988
"Willie Horton" ad : anti-Michael Dukakis campaign ad, 1988
Reagan, bush, and the Iran-Contra Affair : excerpt from the Final Report of the Independent counsel for Iran/Contra Matters (August 4, 1993), 1987-1988
The Star publishes Gennifer Flowers' Allegations : "Presidential campaign, allegations of Clinton affairs may recast Democrats' race", Rhodes Cook, CQ Weekly, January 25, 1992
Is Bill Clinton a draft dodger? : Bill Clinton's 1969 letter to the head of the University of Arkansas's Army Reserve Program, February 12, 1992
Buchanan at the Republican National Convention : Pat Buchanan's address to the Republican National Convention, August 17, 1992.
Colin Powell declines to run : press conference in Washington D.C., November 8, 1995
Dole retires from the Senate : address on the Senate floor, June 11, 1996
Clinton, Gore, and the Monica Lewinsky affair : excerpt from the Starr Report, September 9, 1998
Push polls and whispers, South Carolina Primary : Republican primary debate in South Carolina, February 16, 2000
Nader at the Green Party Convention : Ralph Nader's acceptance speech at the Green Party Convention, June 25, 2000
Gore's kiss : image from the 2000 Democratic National Convention, August 17, 2000
Bush v. Gore : George W. Bush, et al., petitioners v. Albert Gore, Jr., et al., on Writ of Certiorari to the Florida Supreme Court, December 12, 2000
Bush and same-sex marriage initiatives in competitive states : President Bush's remarks calling for a Constitution Amendment defining and protecting marriage, February 24, 2004
Kerry and the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth : anti-John Kerry campaign ad, 2004
Bush Air National Guard allegations surface : alleged Air National Guard memo (August 18, 1973), September 8, 2004.
Obama's keynote speech : Barack Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention, Boston, Massachusetts, July 27, 2004
Obama, race, and the South Carolina Democratic Primary : Barack Obama's victory speech following the South Carolina Primary, January 26, 2008
"A more perfect union" speech : Barack Obama's speech on race, March 18, 2008
Obama rejects public financing : letter to Barack Obama from Common Cause and the League of Women Voters (February 2008), June 2008
Obama at the Democratic National Convention : Barack Obama's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, August 28, 2008
McCain's "fundamentals" gaffe : campaign speech in Jacksonville, Florida, September 15, 2008
The "Joe the plumber" exchange : third Obama-McCain presidential debate, October 15, 2008
Powell's endorsement of Obama : excerpt from Obama's speech at Fayetteville, North Carolina, October 19, 2008
Rick Perry's "oops moment" : Republican Presidential Primary debate, Rochester, Michigan, November 9, 2011
Bill Clinton at the Democratic Convention : Bill Clinton's address to the Democratic National Convention, Charlotte, North Carolina, September 5, 2012
Mother Jones releases Mitt Romney's "47%" video : transcript of video from Mitt Romney fund-raiser, Boca Raton, Florida (May 17, 2012), September 17, 2012
An October surprise : Hurricane Sandy : "FEMA and federal partners continue steadfast support for areas affected by superstorm," Federal Emergency Management Agency press release, October, 31, 2012