A retrospective look at presidential campaign blunders

1960: Fresh out of the hospital, Republican nominee Richard Nixon adamantly forgoes makeup for the first-ever televised debate, looking washed out and pale and unshaven in contrast to the younger and vibrant Sen. John F. Kennedy.

1973: During the middle of the Cold War, Republican nominee Gerald Ford, in the second debate against Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter, infamously says, “There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and there  never will be under a Ford Administration.”

1976: Vice President Nelson Rockefeller is given the finger by protesters against the Vietnam War. He eagerly returns the gesture.

1980: In a debate against Republican challenger Ronald Reagan, incumbent Jimmy Carter states that after discussing with his daughter, she thinks the most important issue is taking control of nuclear weapons. His daughter is 13.

1984: Democratic candidate Walter Mondale is overshadowed in the debate with incumbent Ronald Reagan due to Reagan’s zinger, "I want you to know also I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience."

1987: Democratic nominee front runner Gary Hart dares media to find any dirt on him amid speculations of infidelity. Miami Herald soon obtains photograph of Hart on the aptly named yacht, “Monkey Business,” with 29-year-old model Donna Rice on his lap.

1988: After criticism that he would be too soft on foreign policy, Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis disingenuously poses with a tank. The photo op fails and future candidates with disastrous photo ops are known to have “pulled a Dukakis.”

1992: Vice presidential candidate Admiral James Stockdale begins vice presidential debate with asking,  “Who am I? Why am I here?”

1992: During a visit to an elementary school spelling bee, Dan Quayle, Republican nominee George H.W. Bush’s running mate, mistakenly corrects a student’s spelling of “potato,” telling him to add an “e” to the end. “Potatoe.”

2000: Republican candidate George W. Bush in an effort to show empathy with the working class says, “I know how hard it is to put food on your family.”

2004: Democratic candidate John Kerry tours NASA’s shuttle Discovery wearing a clean suit. Human condom jokes ensue.

2008: Republican candidate John McCain chooses Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his running mate.

2012: In Waterloo, Iowa, Republican primary candidate Michele Bachmann refers to Waterloo as the home of legendary actor John Wayne. However, the actor John Wayne was from Winterset, Iowa, not Waterloo; the John Wayne from Waterloo was a serial killer and rapist known as the “killer clown”.

Sources: Mr. Abe, CNN, New Yorker, Slate Magazine, Huffington Post, Telegraph, New York Daily News