Black and white photograph of George W. Bush with hair like Moe from the Three Stooges with white text along the bottom edge

During his presidency, George W. Bush received much criticism about his public image. His tendency to make country-themed metaphors, speak in a Texas accent, and take vacations on his ranch led to the public having an “American cowboy image” of the president. Tied to this stereotype, and because he was acting so differently to other politicians, some believed that he was not smart.

As a parody to this, an image surfaced of Bush with bowl style haircut, called “Moe Bush.” This is a reference to Moe Howard, of Three Stooges fame. The Three Stooges was a comedy act known for physical slapstick and followed the antics of three less than intelligent characters. By transposing Bush with Moe’s haircut, the image sought to perpetuate the belief of Bush’s lack of intelligence.

Blue text on a white background with a blue star in the center

Orville Freeman and Hubert Humphrey met at the University of Minnesota in the 1930's and sharing an interest in politics, became good friends. When Humphrey was elected as mayor of Minneapolis in 1945, he named Freeman as a special assistant for veteran affairs. Freeman later managed Humphrey's successful United States Senate campaign in 1948. In 1954, with Humphrey leading the Democratic-Farmer-Labor ticket in his successful campaign for re-election, Freeman was elected as governor of Minnesota. In 1960, Freeman was defeated in his bid for re-election, and Humphrey was unsuccessful in securing the Democratic Party's nomination for U.S. President. Following his defeat for re-election as governor in 1960, Freeman was appointed as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture by the newly elected President John F. Kennedy, and was retained in that post by President Lyndon B. Johnson following Kennedy's assassination, serving until January 21, 1969. Humphrey was selected by Johnson as his running mate in 1964, and he served as U.S. Vice President from 1965 to 1969. 

Blue text with white stars on them over white text on a red background

Hubert H. Humphrey was a Democratic Senator from Minnesota and Vice President of the United States of America (under President Lyndon Johnson). This button from his unsuccessful presidential campaign against Republican Richard M. Nixon in 1968 shows his classic campaign logo with the three interlocking H’s (his middle name was Horatio). Though he would lose this campaign, he would regain his former seat in the Senate in the 1970 elections.

White text on a blue background and attached to a white plastic fan

Richard J. Daley was an American politician and mayor of Chicago for twenty-one years from 1955 until his death on December 20, 1976.  Daley, a native of Chicago and father of future mayor, Richard M. Daley, was a Democrat who was first elected to the Illinois House of Representatives as a Republican. However, soon after being elected, he quickly moved back to the Democratic side of the aisle. He also served as Cook County Clerk before his eventual election as Chicago mayor. O’Hare International Airport, the Sears Tower, and many other large construction projects occurred during Daley’s tenure.

Large blue text with a fan-shaped graphic on the left edge in red, white, and blue with a blue 80 in the center and red and blue stars lining the right edge all on a white background.

As the 1980 Democratic Convention drew closer, Democrats began to worry about their survival in the political world. Incumbent Jimmy Carter was considered to be a "ticking time bomb waiting to destroy the Democratic Party." Fear of Carter leading the Democrats to suffer a defeat as large as the 1932 election, members of the party began to push an "open convention." Officially called "The Committee of an Open Convention," they sought to open the selection of the Democratic nominee, hoping that Carter would not be selected. It became commonly known as: "Anybody But Carter." Ultimately, the movement's efforts failed, and their fears came true as Carter suffered a massive defeat by Ronald Reagan.

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The American Independent Party (AIP) was founded in 1967 by Bill Shearer and his wife, Eileen Knowland Shearer, a cousin of California Senator William F. Knowland. The AIP is considered a far-right party and is best known for its nomination of former Alabama Governor George Wallace as a candidate for United States President in 1968. Wallace carried the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and Alabama on a segregationist platform against Democratic nominee Hubert Humphrey and Republican nominee Richard Nixon, winning 46 electoral votes, more than any other third-party candidate. 

In 1976, the AIP split into the more moderate American Party, which included more northern conservatives, and the American Independent Party, which focused on the Deep South. Bill Shearer later led the AIP into the Populist Party in the early 1980s. Since 1992, the AIP has been the California affiliate of the national Constitution party. Another split occurred during the 2008 presidential election, resulting in the newly-formed America's Party. As of 2016, approximately 3% of Californians are registered members of the AIP, but political analysts believe that some members mistakenly join the AIP, falsely believing that they are registering as independent voters. 

White text on top of a photograph of Jessie Jackson. 

Jesse Jackson is a politician, civil rights activist, and minister.  He worked for Martin Luther King, Jr. and participated in the Selma to Montgomery marches.  Jackson was active in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and People United to Serve Humanity, and he founded the Rainbow Coalition in 1984.  He ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988.  In 1984, Jackson came in third place behind Gary Hart and Walter Mondale, despite having been viewed as a fringe candidate.  His 1988 campaign was even more successful.  Although he was briefly thought to be a frontrunner for the nomination, he was ultimately defeated by Michael Dukakis.

Red and blue text on white background with photograph of Adlai Stevenson in the center. 

This button was for Adlai Stevenson III's campaign for Illinois governor in 1986. Stevenson ran as a Solidarity Party candidate to offer an alternative to the Democratic slate of candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, and secretary of state. He lost the election to James R. Thompson, a Republican. Stevenson had run as a Democrat for Illinois governor in 1982, also against Thompson, but lost by 0.14 percent and asked for a recount. The Illinois Supreme Court voted against a recount, thereby making Thompson governor.

Stevenson was the Illinois Treasurer from 1967-1970 and U.S. Senator from 1970-1981. He is the son of former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson II, who lost the U.S. presidential election to Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956.

Photograph of the Beatles wearing suits on a blue background with a white banner and black text over the bottom and black and white photographs of each of their heads with black text on a blue background

The Beatles were a 1960s English rock band from Liverpool comprised of four childhood friends: Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. This quartet took the music world by storm with their unconventional sound of rock, skiffle, and pop, which gained them international fame. Their first album entitled "Please Please Me" which debuted in 1963 climbed to the top of the charts and received musical acclaim from Rolling Stone magazine as being one of the greatest albums of all-time. However, that was only the beginning of their success. They continued to make great music and release iconic hit-makers such as "Love Me Due" and "Hey Jude."

Yellow text and an illustration of a man on a red background

Culturally referred to as "The King," Elvis Presley was a rock and roll sensation from Memphis, Tennessee who became one of the most renowned artists of the 20th century. His music career took flight in 1954 when he became acquainted with Sun Records producer Sam Phillips. His blend of country, rock and roll, and r&b set the precedent for his mainstream popularity when he debuted his first single on RCA Records, "Heartbreak Hotel." From that success early on, Presley ventured off into film and landed the lead role in "Love Me Tender" (1956). With success in both music and film, Presley received global acclaim. In his later years, he began to battle with several ailments that stemmed from his drug addiction and on August 8, 1977, he was found dead in a Memphis hotel.