Anyone here old enough to remember the 1984 presidential election?

[Bay Ridge, Bklyn! Born and Bred]

I was reading an article the other day about the 1984 Democratic primary race.  You know, the one with all these goofy characters like Mondale, Gary Hart, Jesse Jackson, etc....but one candidate in partucular seemed to stick out from the pack: former Florida governor Reubin O'Donovan Askew.

The thing that striked me about Askew is that on paper, he seemed to be the perfect Demcoratic candidate:   

1.  exectutive experience
2.  was at the forefront of the civil rights movement and championed school desegregation in the South (thus sowing his progressive/liberal credentials)
3.  was a moderate governor who according to a Harvard study was one of the best US governors OF ALL TIME,
4.  "presidential" good looks
5.  former Army paratrooper

The funny thing is, he finished NEAR LAST in Iowa caucus and NH primary, and soon dropped out of the race.   My question to those who might remember:  why?   Did he have a squeaky voice?  Was he dull?  Was he four feet tall?     Why was it that he got surpassed by all these worthless senators like Hart, Eagelton, and Jimmy Carter-clone Mondale?

[Bay Ridge, Bklyn! Born and Bred]

askew was pro life.  pro lifers dont do well in democrat primaries.

Zing!   

Okay thanks for all your input.  I didn't realize Askew was not as progressive as I had thought.   Being anti-choice would have been a disqualifier for me, too.