February 12th, 1996: Vice President Quayle seems to narrowly defeat Bob Dole in the Iowa caucus after a series of campaign trail gaffes by the former. Nonetheless, coverage is focused on Dole for seeming to "defeat" the incumbent Vice President. A recount a few days later discovers Dole won.
February 21st, 1996: After coming in third in Iowa but not even beating one percent in New Hampshire, Sen. Bob Kerrey exits the race but chooses to endorse Ann Richards for the nomination. He is the first former nominee to make an endorsement.
March 19th, 1996: Businessman H. Ross Perot hints he may run for president again under the Reform Party of America banner. Perot has remained politically active and popular among disaffected voters since his 1992 campaign.
May 1st, 1996: In a televised interview, Sen. Al Gore of Tennessee endorses Gov. Mario Cuomo for the Democratic nomination in a surprise move, and discusses the environment. Reporters are told in advance Gore will not discuss Clinton or their campaign. Though his wishes are respected, the request leaks to the press.
May 11th, 1996: Illinois Senate candidate Hillary Rodham offers her support for Ann Richards and asserts that sexism is alive and real, but when asked to clarify, denies forcefully that opponents of Richards are sexist. She offers praise for Gov. Cuomo as well. Rodham successfully avoids controversy and partially defuses the tension created by Richards' statement.
May 14th, 1996: Sen. John Kerry, a former candidate, and Sen. Ted Kennedy, both of Massachusetts, along with Kennedy's nephew John F. Kennedy, Jr., all endorse Mario Cuomo for the nomination, praising his work in New York.
May 29th, 1996: Film director George Lucas is hospitalized after a deadly car crash. He dies later that evening, aged 52.
June 7th, 1996: Tim Burton's
Superman Lives, starring Nicholas Cage, is released by Warner Bros to mixed reviews, but enjoys strong merchandising sales. While praise is given to many of the film's early sequences, the ending is universally panned. "Lexiac" becomes a popular term for a failed or illogical merger.
June 9th, 1996: Gov. Richard Lamm of Colorado announces he will run for the Reform Party nomination after an assurance that Perot would not enter the race. Nonetheless, sources close to Perot claim he is "still deciding".
August 1996: A leak of possible Dole running mates linked to the press, attributed to the campaign. A Dole spoksman denies it's accuracy and claims it is a forgery, but it nonetheless sparked popular interest.
- Vice President Dan Quayle of Indiana
- Sen. John McCain of Arizona
- Gov. George Pataki of New York
- Rep. Jack Kemp of New York
- Rep. John Kasich of Ohio
- Justice Antonin Scalia
- Gov. George Allen of Virginia
- Rep. Newt Gingrich of Georgia
- Sec. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee
- Sec. Dick Cheney of Wyoming
- Mr. Alan Keyes of Maryland
- Mr. Pat Buchanan of Virginia
(ooc: I know we've generally ignored the details of exits, but I felt since I brought Kerrey into this mess, I had to bring him out. Also, the Iowa Republican caucus was ignored so I took care of it. Please fill in more details on the Superman film if you like.)
