dazzleman
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Political Matrix
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« on: March 09, 2004, 09:06:27 PM » |
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I don't think primaries played the dominant role in the nomination process until after 1968.
Before that, there were "real" conventions, which were much more suspenseful because the outcome was in doubt until the end. There were often numerous ballots before a particular candidate received enough delegate votes to clinch the nomination.
The hunt for additional delegates often involved back-room deals made in "smoke-filled" rooms. It is this type of deal that led to Franklin Roosevelt's nomination by the Democrats after a number of unsuccessful ballots. He picked up key support by abandoning his support for the League of Nations.
A back-room deal also led to Harry Truman being nominated as Vice President in 1944, and Henry Wallace being dumped. This was a pivotal event since Truman rather than Wallace went on to become president, and Wallace probably would have been a dupe of the Soviet Union.
I don't know much about the 1932 election other than that Roosevelt won. I imagine in those days, a sitting president controlled the party machinery, and had pretty tight control over his own renomination.
The process is now more democratic, but the major flaw in it is that voters on the fringe of each party effectively pick the candidate, which can have the effect of making that candidate less appealing in a general election.
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