art of the vote
New exhibit shows this year’s campaign may not be the craziest ever
J UST when you think our national discourse has sunk to a new low, it helps to remember the Richard Nixon toilet seat.
That red, white and blue byproduct of the 1972 presidential campaign just went on display at the New-York Historical Society, alongside a complementary roll of toilet paper.
“At first I thought it was pro-Nixon, the way it was so lovingly packaged,” says curator Cristian Panaite. “But each sheet had ‘Nixon’ printed on it!”
Welcome to the wide, wacky world of democracy. For the small, often hilarious show that is “Campaigning for the Presidency,” Panaite corralled some 120 items from the Jordan Wright collection of nearly 1.5 million pieces. The rest are in storage in Long Island City, awaiting the erection of a brick-andmortar Museum of Democracy. Wright, a Brooklyn-born lawyer and businessman, never forgot the thrill of the “Bobby Kennedy for President” buttons he plucked as a preteen from RFK’s Midtown campaign office. By the time Wright died, in 2008, he’d amassed a stunning collection of campaign ephemera — bumper stickers, bobbleheads, even thong underwear promoting “Bill
Richardson in ’08.” (“How important is the stripper vote really?” Wright reportedly wondered.)
Alas, you won’t find that thong here. This show covers just four campaigns, from 1960 through 1972, beginning with the face-off between Nixon and the far more telegenic John F. Kennedy, several of whose ads play out on video screens. But what Nixon lacked in TV spots, his campaigners made up for in pins, pendants and the catchy slogan, “My pick is Dick!”
The unsuccessful ’68 campaign of Nelson Rockefeller and the frenzied, failed ’64 try by Barry Goldwater spawned a bevy of bizarre things: a psychedelic, “Hair”-like poster titled “Rocky is my man”; bottles of Goldwater cologne and aftershave; and a red sash that spelled out “Goldwater Girl.” Hillary Rodham was one of them, though she stopped short of voting for the man who vowed to resegregate America. As the wall text reminds us, Goldwater campaigned under the slogan, “In your heart, you know he’s right” — to which his Democratic rivals added, “In your guts, you know he’s nuts.”
Which brings us to the fashion gallery: paper dresses. Made by the Scott Paper Co., they sold for about $1.25, and were worn at conventions and were, as you might expect, highly flammable.
“Campaigning for the Presidency: 1960-1972” at the New-York Historical Society, Central Park West, at 77th Street; NYHistory.org