Famous political moments in N.H., Iowa

[Ron Burgundy]

AP - Famous political moments in N.H., Iowa

By The Associated PressSat Nov 25, 1:22 PM ET

Memorable moments over the years from presidential campaigns in New Hampshire and Iowa:

New Hampshire:

Famous Moments:

_1992: Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton's relationship with Gennifer Flowers threatens his candidacy. Clinton rebounds with a strong second place finish in the Democratic primary behind favorite son Paul E. Tsongas from neighboring Massachusetts and declares himself the "comeback kid."

_1988: Vice President George H.W. Bush prevails over Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas in the Republican primary. Bush refers to Dole as "Senator Straddle." Dole's acerbic postelection response, "Stop lying about my record," helps seal his defeat.

_1984: Sen. Gary Hart of Colorado shocks the political establishment by defeating former Vice President Walter Mondale in the Democratic primary by 10 percentage points. Mondale goes on to win the nomination, but loses the election.

_1972: Sen. Edmund Muskie of Maine stands in front of the conservative Union Leader newspaper of Manchester's building in a snowstorm to defend his wife against an attack published by the paper. Muskie, the Democratic front-runner, is reported to have cried during the rallying, severely undermining his candidacy. Muskie claims the reported tears were melting snowflakes.

_1968: President Lyndon Johnson receives 50 percent of the Democratic votes cast. Anti-war candidate Eugene McCarthy's strong showing — 41 percent — stuns Johnson, who withdraws from the race.

_1968: GOP Gov. George Romney of Michigan launches his presidential bid from his summer home on New Hampshire's Lake Winnipesaukee, but withdraws before the primary after it is reported he said he had been "brainwashed" into favoring the Vietnam War.

_1952: Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was commanding NATO in Europe, defeats longtime Republican leader Sen. Robert A. Taft of Ohio without ever coming to the state during the primary.

_1952: Sen. Estes Kefauver of Tennessee, snowmobiling in his coonskin cap, upsets incumbent President Harry Truman in the Democratic primary, discouraging Truman from seeking re-election.

Did You Know:

_The only two presidents to win the White House after losing the New Hampshire primary are Clinton (1992) and George W. Bush (2000).

_Richard Nixon holds the record for having won the most New Hampshire primaries, three: 1960, 1968, 1972.

_Former Minnesota Gov. Harold E. Stassen is the honorary grandfather of the New Hampshire presidential primary, having been on the ballot six times, beginning in 1948.

_Two sitting New Hampshire governors were appointed chiefs of staff at the White House after leading the primary campaigns of successful candidates: Sherman Adams, by Eisenhower, and John Sununu, by the first President Bush.

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Iowa:

Famous Moments:

_2004: The two perceived front-runners in the Democratic contest — Missouri's Dick Gephardt and Vermont's Howard Dean — shower each other with negative ads. Taking the high road, Massachusetts' John Kerry eschews negatives ads, puts his money into Iowa and winds up in first place. He goes on to win the nomination.

_1988: Gephardt and Dole are the two winners, but the media attention goes to the surprisingly strong second place finish by the Rev. Pat Robertson in the GOP contest, evidence of the growing influence of conservative religious voters in the Republican Party.

_1980: Republicans begin the tradition of holding a straw poll at their caucuses, giving the appearance of a primary election. Bush campaigns extensively in Iowa, defeating Ronald Reagan and briefly stalling the former California governor's march toward the nomination.

_1976: Jimmy Carter, an obscure Georgia governor who began grass-roots campaigning in Iowa a year before the caucuses, comes in a distant second in the Democratic contest to undecided, but wins the most votes for an actual candidate. Carter uses the momentum of his Iowa "victory" to achieve victory in the New Hampshire primary.

_1972: A left-wing dark horse candidate, South Dakota Sen. George McGovern, makes a strong showing in the Democratic caucuses, giving his campaign national attention.

Did You Know:

_McGovern's 1972 campaign manager, Gary Hart, later claimed that he "invented" the Iowa caucuses. He began a media campaign heralding their importance in 1972 and served on the rules committee in 1968 that increased the importance of primaries and caucuses at the expense of party bosses.

_Alaska and Hawaii generally hold their caucuses before Iowa despite the Hawkeye State's claim to come first in the presidential election cycle.

_1992 was a low point in prestige for the caucuses. The media and most Democratic candidates bypassed the event, figuring both Sen. Tom Harkin (news, bio, voting record), D-Iowa, and President Bush had the contest already won — which turned out to the case.