Some of the Greatest Moments of Campaign 2012
For some real-time reporting on all of the hard news on the election, check out the ThinkProgress Election Day live blog.
But as we all wait for the first polls to close at 7:00 p.m., it’s also worth taking a look back some of the highs and lows (mostly lows) of the past two years of constant campaigning. Here they are, as chronicled by ThinkProgress’ Igor Volsky:
1) Oops. During a GOP primary debate in November 2011, Rick Perry struggled to name the three federal agencies he would eliminate as president. “Commerce, Education, and the —what’s the third one there?”
2) Marriage is like… While campaigning in Iowa, Rick Santorum repeatedly compared marriage equality to a napkin, not a paper towel; water, not beer; tea, not basketball; a tree, not a car:
3) Invisible Obama. In what was a poorly kept “surprise” appearance, actor/director Clint Eastwood delivered a bizarre speech at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, during which he spoke to an empty chair with an invisible Obama:
4) $10,000. During a GOP presidential debate in December 2011, Romney responded to Rick Perry’s claim that the he had advocated for a federal mandate to purchase health care coverage by trying to wager $10,000:
5) Barbarians. Throughout the campaign, Michele Bachmann refused to comment on allegations that her husband’s Christian counseling clinics instruct gay patients that they could change his sexual orientation through therapy and prayer. Marcus Bachmann had previously referred to gays as ”barbarians”:
6) I am America. The classic Herman Cain ad features chief of staff Mark Block blowing smoke into the camera, Cain smiling, and the ballot “I Am America”:
7) Moon colony. In a speech ahead of Florida’s GOP presidential primary, Newt Gingrich made a bold pledge to establish a permanent U.S. base on the moon “by the end of my second term”:
8) Binders full of women. During the second presidential debate, Romney falsely claimed that he initiated a study to seek “binders full of women” to fill leadership roles in his administration as the governor of Massachusetts:
9) Romnesia. President Obama unveiled a new line of attack against Mitt Romney during a campaign stop at George Mason University in October, arguing that the GOP presidential candidate — who has changed his views on key policy issues — suffers from Romnesia, a condition that causes one to forget their past statements and beliefs:
10) Work out. An October issue of Time magazine featured several pictures of Paul Ryan — who is known for following the P90X workout plan — pumping iron in a grey shirt and backwards baseball cap:
BONUS: Meatloaf. The 1980s power ballad singer endorses Mitt Romney:
EXTRA BONUS:
Social media played a central role in the campaign and ThinkProgress’ Annie-Rose Strasser has catalogued 2012’s most memorable tweets: