Top TV Political Convention Moments

From unclebarky.com.

Representatives of the donkey and elephant parties will be stampeding into Denver and St. Paul during the next two weeks to hold their quadrennial national conventions.

The Democrats go first, staring April 25th, with the Republicans right on their heels (Sept. 1-4). Here’s a top 10 countdown of televised moments to remember from previous conventions. Some are odd, others eventful. All made their marks.

10. Matthews vs. Miller — Two blowhards had a head-on collision after former Democratic senator Zell Miller of Georgia ripped into his old party as the keynote speaker at the 2004 Republican convention. MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews then questioned Miller’s insinuation that Democratic nominee John Kerry intended to defend the nation with “spitballs” after voting against various defense systems. During a live exchange, an increasingly angry Miller finally told his antagonist, “I wish we lived in the day where you could challenge a person to a duel.” Matthews milked their confrontation for weeks and of course Saturday Night Live parodied it.

9. Read their lips — Three seconds seemed like an eternity when nominee Al Gore and wife Tipper locked themselves in an amorous embrace on the final night of the 2000 Democratic convention. “The Kiss” was twitted, dissected and viewed by many as a calculated effort to soften Big Al’s robotic, wooden image.

8. And furthermore . . . — Bill Clinton had his national coming out party on opening night of the 1988 Democratic convention. Instead he threw a slumber party with a widely ridiculed and interminable 32-minute speech in which he put Michael Dukakis’ name in nomination. Clinton proved resilient, though, turning his disaster into a triumphant appearance on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show, where he played “Summertime” on his saxophone after the host first made fun of him.

7. Mondale’s Waterloo — The Democrats’ 1984 nominee, Walter Mondale, already was seen as a decided underdog to incumbent Ronald Reagan. He then dug his own grave at the 1984 convention with a memorably inept acceptance speech. The former vice president chopped himself off at the knees by telling America, “Mr. Reagan will raise taxes, and so will I. He won’t tell you. I just did.” Mondale later lost in a landslide.

6. The big brush-off — Sen. Ted Kennedy feverishly contested President Carter for the Democratic Party’s 1980 nomination, but came up shorter than Hillary Clinton’s bid to outlast Barack Obama. At the 1980 convention, though, Kennedy remained combative to the end. As Carter and running mate Mondale raised their hands in victory to the tune of “Happy Days Are Here Again,” Teddy turned his back on the incumbent president and refused to join him in any visible way. The lack of a conciliatory photo spoke volumes, with Carter eventually denied a second term by Reagan.

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