Kontraband Know It All

What was the closest US presidential election on record?
Now the dust has settled and a certain Barack Obama has won the 2012 US presidential election, he can feel satisfied that, although voting initially looked close between him and Republican hopeful Mitt Romney, he eventually won by a healthy 97 vote margin. Obama won by 192 Electoral College votes in 2008, so he has seen his popularity dramatically decrease, but at least he didn't have to suffer the drama of an election draw.

Draws in the US presidential election have happened on more than one occasion, this happened in 1824 and 1800. However, the closest presidential election which resulted in a direct victor was in 1876, when Rutherford B. Hayes defeated Samuel J Tilden by 185 votes to 184. Tilden actually won the popular vote (by over 200,000 votes) but due to the electoral system used by the USA, he lost on electoral (state) vote. Tilden became a recluse, no doubt wondering why he had not got the top post even though he had been perceived as more popular, like a 19th century David Miliband.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

What was the most controversial US presidential election and why?
Since George Washington ran for President in 1789 and garnered 100% of the electoral vote, the presidential elections have not been short of controversy. Several candidates have gained more of the popular vote than their opponent (see Tilden in previous answer) but have still lost the electoral vote. But perhaps the most controversial US presidential election, especially in the modern era, was the 2000 race between George W Bush and Al Gore.
It was clearly going to be a close race but it appeared Gore would have the advantage, with his experience as Vice-President counting. However, Bush eventually won with 271 votes to Gore's 266 (like Tilden before him Gore had actually won the popular vote, getting over half a million votes more than Bush). Controversy surrounded voting in Florida, which as the state was worth 25 electoral votes, could have sent either man to the White House. Bush won the state by just 537 votes (out of 6 million), Gore complained that things such as the "butterfly ballot" papers had caused voters to accidentally vote for other candidates. It can't be discounted that the governor of Florida at the time just happened to be Jeb Bush (George's younger brother). Still, it wasn't all bad for Al Gore, he went off to win an Academy Award, Emmy Award, Grammy Award and Nobel Peace Prize whilst George went on to win the ire of most of the world and once said "rarely is the question asked: is our children learning?".

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Who enjoyed the biggest wins in US presidential elections?
There have been some runaway victors in US presidential elections. When it comes to the electoral vote count (states are given a number of votes depending on various criteria) then George Washington enjoyed a couple of 100% victories, whilst Ronald Reagan enjoyed an enormous victory in 1984, trouncing Walter Mondale 525 electoral votes to 13. Other big winners include James Monroe in 1820 (228 out of 231 votes), Franklin D Roosevelt in 1936 (523 to 8) and even "Tricky Dicky" himself, Nixon won 520 to 17 votes in 1972.

The biggest win in regards to popular vote was pulled off by Richard Nixon. Nixon was incredibly popular in 1972; he beat his opponent by over 17 million votes. This is considerably remarkable as in 1968 Nixon had won the presidential election by just 500,000 votes. However, the US economy had grown and American troops had finally started pulling out of Vietnam, giving Nixon the popularity he needed to send opponent George McGovern packing. The Watergate Scandal of 1972 eventually led to Nixon ignominiously resigning in 1974. Watergate has become the tiresome inspiration to terms such as Sharongate (EastEnders), Flakegate (Anthea Turner's wedding photos) and Biscuitgate. Biscuitgate involved Gordon Brown being reluctant to mention what his favourite biscuit was. He later stated "chocolate" (possibly a Hobnob).

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

What were the strangest slogans used by presidential election candidates?
For the 2012 presidential election Obama used the rather bland but direct campaign slogan "Forward" and Romney had the religious sounding patriotic attempt "Believe in America". Neither of them were particularly outrageous nor worth remembering. But over the decades there have been some howlers: "It's the economy, stupid" (Bill Clinton 1992), "Ross for Boss" (Ross Perot 1992) and "Keep cool and keep Coolidge" (Calvin Coolidge 1924).

Some slogans have made a play on the campaigner's name: "Who but Hoover?" (Herbert Hoover 1928) whilst others have pleaded for voters to stay loyal: "Don't trade horses in midstream" (Abraham Lincoln 1864). Lincoln is so venerated in the USA that his slogan inspired Franklin Roosevelt's 1944 effort "Don't swap horses in midstream". As for the Calamity Jane of US Presidents, George W Bush's efforts were clearly not penned by the man himself. "A safer world and a more hopeful America" was the Bush slogan in 2004, a mild attempt to be heartfelt. Undoubtedly better than Bush's suggestions of "Kerry Smelly" (John Kerry was his 2004 opponent) or his more thoughtful effort: "I can't screw it up any more than I have already can I?".
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

[Answers provided by 63336. Text any question to 63336 for £2.50 or ask one for free at http://63336.com ]