Why didn't John Glenn ever run for president?

[MissouriTeacher]

Or did he?

It just seems that there hasn't ever been another Democrat with such pre-established 'national hero credibility.'

[Eric J in MN]

1. He did in the 1984.. He lost the Democrat primaries.

from wikipedia:

Glenn also mounted a bid to be the 1984 Democratic Presidential candidate. Early on, Glenn polled well, coming in a strong second to Mondale. It was also surmised that he would be aided by the almost-simultaneous release of The Right Stuff , a movie about the original seven Mercury astronauts in which it was generally agreed that Glenn's character was portrayed in a pleasing and appealing manner. However, Glenn apparently turned his attention to national politics too early, neglecting the sensitive voters of the Iowa caucuses. Media attention turned to Mondale, Gary Hart, and Jesse Jackson, leaving Glenn the strongest also-ran. The 1984 presidential bid left Glenn with a substantial campaign debt that took years to pay off.

[ShaneGR]

2. He tried......

Ended up several million in debt because of it.

[madmax]

3. Not sure, so please feel free to debunk

Didn't he have a minor role in the S&L fiasco?

[Eric J in MN]

5. yes, but that was 1989. It didn't affect his 1984 run (nt0

nt

[1monster]

8. One of the Keating Five

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/c...

'Glenn was later named one of the "Keating Five" for accepting a $200,000 contribution from convicted savings and loan executive Charles H. Keating Jr., but a 1991 Senate commission declared that his only crime was "poor judgment."'

[shain from kane]

12. Keating Five

He was one of the five Senators and/or representatives, including Senator John McCain, that tried to intercede to keep Keating from being indicted for savings & loan fraud, stealing money from the elderly, widows and orphans.
Keating was also portrayed in the Larry Flynt movie for his anti-pornographic activities.

[MissouriTeacher]

4. I see...

so why didn't his campaign take off?

[The Zanti Regent]

6. He ran in 1984, Newsweek torpedoed his candidacy

The idiots at Newsweek repeatedly smeared him. The biggest article they wrote slammed him over the movie "The Right Stuff" and they lied about what he did. I was present at a 1984 fundraiser where I saw Senator Glenn talk to the movie's producers in a cordial and friendly tone. Newsweek lied and said he ridiculed them for making "Laurel and Hardy In Outer Space" which was a bald faced lie. It went downhill from there...

[MissouriTeacher]

7. So the "liberal media" struck again...

[Lancer]

9. If he had become the Democratic nominee,

you can be sure the Mercury Astronauts for Truth would have been out in full force, declaring that Glenn never orbited the earth. "I was there on the launch pad. Glenn never left the commisary."

Astronaut Wives for Truth would have outed his wife Annie as an alien creature from outer space, and Geriatric Astronauts for Truth would have alleged that Glenn flew aboard the space shuttle in 1998 only to buy prescription drugs at cheaper intergallactic prices.

I kid you not.

[HamdenRice]

10. He's the most boring public speaker on the planet

Glen is by most accounts a good guy and a diligent senator. But if you ever heard him speak, he makes the pre-populist Al Gore and pre-convention John Kerry sound like Martin Luther King by comparison.

[MissouriTeacher]

11. Admittedly, that would have been a big disadvantage

against Reagan.

[WI_DEM]

13. he did but didn't connect with voters for some reason

and was a very wooden speaker and compared to Mondale didn't have a very strong organization or as Hart did, appeal to young activists. He was also a finalist for Jimmy Carter's VP in 1976--but he didn't connect with Carter personally the way Mondale and Ed Muskie did--who emerged as the final two.

[TomClash]

14. He was boring.

[leesa]

15. What is this crap about running military-industrial complex "heroes"

God, I wish Americans would grow up! What is it? Too many war films?