In 1984, history was made in the political realm as former Democratic Vice-President Walter Mondale announced he was running for President. He was going up against Republican Ronald Reagan as he was vying for a second term in The White House. Jimmy Carter's second-in-command knew he had a difficult battle to take the nation's top job so what was the alternative?:

University of Texas at Arlington News Service Photograph Collection
University of Texas at Arlington News Service Photograph Collection
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(Photo image of Geraldine Ferraro courtesy of The University of Texas at Arlington News Service Photograph Collection)

Mondale decided to recruit Geraldine Ferraro, a well-liked politician who represented the 9th District in my ol' hometown of New York City. She also served as The United States Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

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(Black and White photo image of Geraldine Ferraro courtesy of Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39504)

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(Photo image of Democratic Convention courtesy of Los Angeles Times - https://digital.library.ucla.edu/catalog/ark:/21198/zz0002sj1q, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=130757296)

The Newburgh, New York native was tapped as Mondale's running mate as she became the first woman in history to seek office for The Vice-Presidency and received positive support from followers at The Democratic Convention in Los Angeles, California.

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10/3/1984 President Reagan poses at the White House
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(Photo image of Ronald Reagan courtesy of The White House)

 

The campaign was in full throttle as both hoped for an upset to unseat the incumbent commander-in-chief, but it did NOT happen as Ronald Reagan won a second term

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(Photo of US Capitol in Washington DC courtesy of tupungato)

Reagan easily won re-election in a landslide victory, carrying 525 electoral votes, 49 states, and 58.8% of the popular vote. Mondale won only 13 electoral votes: 10 from his home state of Minnesota, which he won by a narrow margin of 0.18%, and 3 from the District of Columbia, which has always voted overwhelmingly for the Democratic candidate.

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(Photo image of Geraldine Ferraro courtesy of Nancy Wong - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31326208)

In the days after the convention, Ferraro proved to be an effective campaigner, with a brash and confident style that forcefully criticized the Reagan administration and sometimes almost overshadowed Mondale. The former Vice-President was 16 points behind Reagan in polls before the pick, and after the convention he pulled even for a short time.

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(Photo image of Geraldine Ferraro courtesy of www.wikipedia.org)

Here is your chance to get acquainted with a phenomenal woman who was instrumental in making political history worldwide. This weekend, The Triplex Cinema will present "Geraldine Ferraro: Paving the Way". The 90 minute screening also features Ferraro’s daughter, Donna Zacarro as she will discuss her mother’s legacy at this event which takes place on Sunday at 3 pm. The public is invited to attend this forum in Great Barrington. Tickets are available by logging on to their web site by going here. 

("Geraldine Ferraro: Paving The Way" trailer courtesy of www.youtube.com)

Here is a preview of what you can expect upon attendance of this special screening that will be shown here in our backyard. By all means, make plans to see this memorable bio-pic.

(Some information obtained in this article courtesy of www.wikipedia.org)

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Gallery Credit: Annalise Mantz

 

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