Vice President Walter Mondale chairs a meeting of the Energy Task Force in Washington D.C., in 1979. “You have a style problem,” Mondale told the president, with others in the room, at Camp David, where Carter was preparing his infamous “ malaise” speech (though he never used that word). In the summer of 1979, long lines at gas stations caused Carter’s popularity to plummet. for medical treatment, which led to the seizure of American hostages in Tehran), sometimes right (telling Carter that imposing a grain embargo on the Soviet Union after the 1980 invasion of Afghanistan would be ineffective) and always brutally candid. Mondale’s advice was sometimes wrong (letting the shah of Iran into the U.S. This became arguably the most significant strengthening of the American constitutional system since the end of World War II.Ĭarter and Mondale developed a strong and enduring personal relationship. Mondale told me that Carter “executivized” and thus revolutionized the office of the vice presidency. (David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images)Ĭarter informed senior staffers: “If you get an order from Fritz, it’s as if it's an order from me.” He added that if any of them followed the historical pattern and tried to sideline the veep, they would be fired.
President Jimmy Carter and Vice President Walter Mondale in the president's private office in 1977. Amy Klobuchar (a former Mondale intern) and former Vice President Joe Biden were trailing more progressive candidates. In the summer of 2019, we chatted at a Virginia event for the Carter Center, Jimmy Carter’s post-presidential organization. Throughout his career, Mondale was always a pragmatist. And the George Floyd case in his hometown reminds us of his pivotal role in the civil rights movement. His brand of compassionate, pro-union, expansive liberalism is back in fashion. History is hard on losers, but even before he died Monday at the age of 93, the onetime boy wonder of Minnesota politics began achieving at least a modest form of vindication. “Fritz” Mondale loved telling that story, and his self-deprecating wit made him a beloved figure in the Democratic Party. “How long does it take to get over this?” Mondale asked.
(Brant Ward/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)Īfter Walter Mondale got creamed by Ronald Reagan in the 1984 presidential election, he ran into George McGovern, who had lost to Richard Nixon in a landslide 12 years earlier. Mondale traveled extensively on Carter’s behalf and advised him on domestic and foreign affairs.Walter Mondale at San Jose State University in 1984 during his campaign for the presidency. He was the first vice-president to occupy an office in the White House, rather than in a building across the street. In 1976, Carter chose Mondale as No 2 on his ticket and went on to unseat Gerald Ford.Īs vice-president, Mondale had a close relationship with Carter. “Basically I found I did not have the overwhelming desire to be president, which is essential for the kind of campaign that is required,” he said in November 1974. Mondale tested the waters for a presidential bid in 1974 but ultimately decided against it. Like Humphrey, he was an outspoken supporter of civil rights. His Senate career was marked by advocacy of social issues such as education, housing, migrant workers and child nutrition. In 1972, Mondale won another Senate term with nearly 57% of the vote.
#Former vice president walter mondale full
Mondale was elected to a full six-year term with about 54% of the vote in 1966, although Democrats lost the governorship and suffered other election setbacks. Mondale started his career in Washington in 1964, when he was appointed to the Senate to replace Humphrey, who had resigned to become vice-president to Lyndon Johnson. He was only 20 when he served as a congressional district manager for Humphrey’s successful Senate campaign in 1948. The dourness of Norwegian culture stayed with the family – he recalled that in his childhood, kids were spanked for the sin of bragging about themselves. Mondale’s great-grandfather migrated to the US from Norway. In a tweet, Barack Obama said Mondale “championed progressive causes and changed the role of VP”. “Fritz used his political skill and personal integrity to transform the vice-presidency into a dynamic, policy-driving force that had never been seen before and still exists today,” the former president said. Walter Mondale in 1977 while serving as vice-president.
0 kommentar(er)
