Did Ferraro cry?

January 27, 2008 1:05 PM

I was sure I remembered that Geraldine Ferraro cried during the 1984 presidential election, and that the media made the event into a symbol of why women are too weak to hold national office, but now I can't find a headline or news article from that time that mentions her crying. Am I getting this mixed up with Pat Schroeder's famous breakdown when she dropped out?
posted by serazin to law & government (9 comments total)

Yes, I think you are.
posted by mcwetboy at 1:10 PM on January 27

Hmmmm... I followed that campaign relatively closely. I was especially interested in the cultural issues surrounding a woman running. And I don't recall anything like that. Schroeder's breakdown was indeed famous, and was certainly the the focus of an unfair amount of attention.
posted by The Deej at 1:33 PM on January 27

My recollection is that Ferraro was a strong candidate who did not cry, but came under fire for her husband's business and his tax returns.
posted by exphysicist345 at 1:59 PM on January 27

I'm spacing on the name, but there were tears from a male politician from Maine (or Missouri?) that became national news.
Just _excitement_ was enough to get Howard Dean branded a nut.
Really, America has it head where the sun don't shine.
posted by JimN2TAW at 2:08 PM on January 27

I seem to remember there was a hullabaloo about crying, a quick search on the NYT archives found this article which I find intriguingly ambiguous.
posted by jeremias at 2:16 PM on January 27

I'm spacing on the name, but there were tears from a male politician from Maine (or Missouri?) that became national news.

You may be thinking of Ed Muskie.

The collapse of Muskie's momentum early in the 1972 campaign is also attributed to his response to campaign attacks. Prior to the New Hampshire primary, the so-called "Canuck Letter" was published in the Manchester Union-Leader. The letter claimed that Muskie had made disparaging remarks about French-Canadians—a remark likely to injure Muskie's support among the French-Canadian population in northern New England. Subsequently, the paper published an attack on the character of Muskie's wife Jane, reporting that she drank and used off-color language during the campaign. Muskie made an emotional defense of his wife in a speech outside the newspaper's offices during a snowstorm. Though Muskie later stated that what had appeared to the press as tears were actually melted snowflakes, the press reported that Muskie broke down and cried, shattering the candidate's image as calm and reasoned.[3]
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 2:47 PM on January 27

JimN2TAW, you're probably thinking of Ed Muskie. Sorry for the Wikipedia link, but it seems correct at least on this one point:

Muskie made an emotional defense of his wife in a speech outside the newspaper's offices during a snowstorm. Though Muskie later stated that what had appeared to the press as tears were actually melted snowflakes, the press reported that Muskie broke down and cried, shattering the candidate's image as calm and reasoned.

posted by Mo Nickels at 2:50 PM on January 27

Damn. Sniped by Cool Papa Bell, who was so fast he could hit the light switch and get in bed before the bulb went out.
posted by Mo Nickels at 2:51 PM on January 27 [1 favorite]

I agree that you're mixing this up with Pat Schroeder.

Ferraro's personality -- brash Long Guylander -- didn't mesh well with a "weak and weepy" frame, so I don't think a claim that she cried would have really worked the way you describe. Note that Hillary's crying moment is attached to someone widely seen as a ballbreaker, so the only way to frame it is as play-acting and pandering.
posted by dhartung at 12:28 AM on January 28