Walter Mondale served as vice president under Jimmy Carter and decided he'd run for the big chair against Ronald Reagan in 1984.
He chose Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate in a bit of historical pandering. He was later said to have considered various partners who would have also been the first black or hispanic to serve as vice president.
Ultimately he was, just not the one he'd hoped for. Mondale would win only his home state of Minnesota and lose to President Ronald Reagan by the most electoral votes ever.
Mondale admitted he planned to raise taxes, and had an uphill battle against a Ronald Reagan who was seen as helping the country through an economic downturn.
It is a nice button, though. The D swoops out of the frame, and the whole name seems to be swinging along a graceful arc. In Mondale's left hand is the UAW flag. In his right he's holding on to Ferraro, who seems to be clutching 1984. The a nice, clean font that almost withstands the test of time, which is better than most of the items that came out of the era.
When the votes were counted and the buttons were removed, Mondale returned to private law practice. He remained an important player in Democratic politics for some time and served as an ambassador during President Bill Clinton's administration.
He ran for his old U.S. Senate seat again in 2002. He'd left the position to run for vice president, but returned after Paul Wellstone's death. At the age of 74 he came just shy of capturing enough votes in Minnesota to be sent back to Washington.
As of this writing he still lives in Minneapolis and has been named Honorary Consul-General of Norway in Minnesota.
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