Adlai Stevenson, still dead, encourages supporters to back Clinton, Edwards, AND Obama

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Adlai Stevenson: "Vote For All Three...What The Hell."



http://www.msnbc.com/fake-ass-url.html

MSNBC Breaking: Former Democratic Presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson has announced that he will not seek his party's nomination in 2008. "Besides having been dead for 42 years, I also feel that this just isn't the time for me to throw my hat into the ring again."

Stevenson, in a thoroughly unprecedented move, encouraged his supporters to back Democratic hopefuls Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, AND Barack Obama. He stated "Audacity of HOPE? What the hell could be more audacious than casting your vote for THREE candidates instead of one? In my book, that triples the odds that ONE of them will take back the White House in 2008."

Stevenson did not take questions from the press during his brief speech. Instead, he waved to the crowd and signaled his accompanying orchestra to play a medley of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama," "Gimme Three Steps," and "Free Bird" as he exited in a haze of dry ice fog.

[Stuart G]

1. Adlai Stevenson..a great progressive, intellectual..

A lot out there don't know anything about him..here is some background of his two attempts to gain the Presidency.

Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (February 5, 1900 – July 14, 1965) was an American politician, noted for his intellectual demeanor and advocacy of liberal causes in the Democratic party. He served one term as governor of Illinois and ran, unsuccessfully, for president against Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956. He served as Ambassador to the United Nations from 1961 to 1965.

1952 presidential bid

Early in 1952, while Stevenson was still governor of Illinois, President Harry S. Truman proposed that he seek the Democratic nomination for president. In a fashion that was to become his trademark, Stevenson at first hesitated, arguing that he was committed to running for a second gubernatorial term. As governor of the host state, Stevenson delivered a welcoming address to the delegates to the 1952 Democratic National Convention in Chicago so stirring that it may have helped stampede his nomination. Despite his protestations, the delegates drafted him, and he accepted the nomination with a speech that according to contemporaries, "electrified the nation:"

"When the tumult and the shouting die, when the bands are gone and the lights are dimmed, there is the stark reality of responsibility in an hour of history haunted with those gaunt, grim specters of strife, dissension, and materialism at home, and ruthless, inscrutable, and hostile power abroad. The ordeal of the twentieth century —the bloodiest, most turbulent age of the Christian era—is far from over. Sacrifice, patience, understanding, and implacable purpose may be our lot for years to come. … Let’s talk sense to the American people! Let’s tell them the truth, that there are no gains without pains, that we are now on the eve of great decisions."

Stevenson's distinctive speaking style quickly earned him the reputation of an intellectual and endeared him to many Americans, while simultaneously alienating him from others.

Stevenson's intelligence was the subject of much ridicule; it was during the 1952 campaign that Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. Richard M. Nixon of California labeled Stevenson an "egghead." In the 1952 presidential election against Dwight D. Eisenhower, Stevenson lost heavily outside the Solid South; he won only nine states and lost the Electoral College vote 442 to 89.
Adlai Stevenson statue showing hole in sole of shoe


During the campaign, a photograph revealed a hole in the sole of Adlai's right shoe.<2> This became a well-known symbol of Adlai's frugality and earthiness. Photographer Bill Gallagher of the Flint Journal won the 1953 Pulitzer prize on the strength of the image.<3>

Following his defeat, Stevenson traveled throughout Asia, the Middle East and Europe, writing about his travels for Look magazine. Although he was not sent as an official emissary of the U.S. government, Stevenson's international reputation gave him access to many foreign officials.

1956 presidential bid

With Eisenhower headed for another landslide, few Democrats wanted the 1956 nomination. Although challenged by Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver and New York Governor W. Averell Harriman, Stevenson campaigned more aggressively to secure the nomination, and Kefauver conceded after losing several key primaries. To Stevenson's dismay, former president Truman endorsed Harriman, but the blow was softened by former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt's continued support. Stevenson again won the nomination at the 1956 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, aided by strong support from younger delegates, who were said to form the core of the "New Politics" movement. He permitted the convention delegates to choose Senator Kefauver as his running mate, despite stiff competition from Senator John F. Kennedy. Following his nomination, Stevenson waged a vigorous presidential campaign, delivering 300 speeches and traveling 55,000 miles. He called on the electorate to join him in a march to a "new America", based on a liberal agenda that anticipated the programs of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. His call for an end to aboveground nuclear weapons tests proved premature and lost him support.

While President Eisenhower suffered heart problems, the economy enjoyed robust health. Stevenson's hopes for victory were dashed when, in October, President Eisenhower's doctors gave him a clean bill of health and the Suez and Hungary crises erupted simultaneously. The public was not convinced that a change in leadership was needed, and Stevenson lost his second bid for the presidency, winning only 73 electoral votes in the 1956 presidential election.

Despite his two defeats, Stevenson considered a third nomination. Early in 1957, he resumed law practice with associates W. Willard Wirtz, William McC. Blair Jr. and Newton N. Minow. He also accepted an appointment on the new Democratic Advisory Council, with other prominent Democrats. He was employed part-time by the Encyclopædia Britannica.

[NewJeffCT]

2. That was the beginning of Republican bashing of intellectuals

as "eggheads" - but, it later became those ivory-towered intellectual elitists.

Ike wasn't a dummy, but he played up the difference between himself and the egghead.

[Stuart G]

3. As a fairly young person.,,,,.

I heard Adlai speak on TV. His eloquence was unsurpassed. I think that Barbara Jordan was his equal. As was Dr. King.
Also, if I recall he proposed a Nuclear Test Treaty in 1956 that would have outlawed testing in the atmosphere. An idea that was way ahead of its time.

[Chovexani]

4. I'll vote for whoever Gogo tells me to vote for

(Sorry, extremely obscure Final Fantasy joke.)