Walter Mondale fought the good fight

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The election wasn’t even close. Walter Mondale, the former vice president, was crushed in his 1984 challenge to President Ronald Reagan. Forty-nine states to one. Even the one state Mondale carried, his home state of Minnesota, was close. A shift of fewer than 3,800 votes would have given Reagan an unprecedented 50-state sweep.

And yet, when one thinks of Walter Mondale, who died Monday at the age of 93, failure is the last word that comes to mind. In his long political career, he fought for, and believed in, helping those who could not help themselves. He believed in government as a positive force. He believed in the goodness of others. Thoughts not widely found in today’s politics.

A determined liberal, he fought for civil rights and a strong labor movement and was a strong opponent of U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

Mondale's presidential run

Vietnam had a special meaning for Mondale. His mentor, Hubert Humphrey, went from a liberal crusader in the Senate to a tormented vice president under Lyndon Johnson, whose conduct of the war disheartened Humphrey. A few years ago, I asked Mondale whether Humphrey’s experience as VP gave him a reason to pause when Jimmy Carter offered the vice presidential spot to him in 1976.

“I was very discouraged by what Humphrey went through,” Mondale told me. “I actually think he would have been far better off had he stayed in the Senate. There is no question in my mind that one of the war’s greatest victims, other than those injured and killed, was the career and psyche of Hubert Humphrey.” When Mondale was offered the position by Carter, “I went to see Humphrey. ‘I got a shot at vice president but do I want it?’ I asked him. ‘I know what you went through.' ”

Walter Mondale on Oct. 11, 1984, in New York City.
Walter Mondale on Oct. 11, 1984, in New York City.

As it turned out, Humphrey emphatically insisted Mondale take it. And in doing so, Mondale became the first vice president in history who held the office with real responsibility — a model later emulated by Al Gore, Dick Cheney and Joe Biden.

On the night President Carter lost his bid for reelection, in 1980, staffers were already touting Mondale as the Democratic nominee for 1984. But while “Fritz” had strong support from labor unions, women’s groups and African Americans, he was seen by many as representing stale, tired politics — a notion that gave rise to challenger Gary Hart, who gave Mondale a real run for his money in ’84, promising a kind of “new politics.”

Mondale ultimately won the nomination — a debate with Hart in which he asked of the Colorado senator, “Where’s the beef?" was seen as a critical moment — but he went into the San Francisco convention as a long shot at best to defeat President Reagan.

His selection of Geraldine Ferraro, the congresswoman from Queens, New York, as his running mate made history — the first woman to appear on a major party ticket. Female delegates on the convention floor were openly crying. It gave the ticket an enthusiastic push into the general election.

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Even so, the polls were not encouraging. The only time where Mondale’s hopes were brightened came in his first debate with Reagan, who suddenly appeared old and confused. But that optimism ended two weeks later, in the second debate, when Reagan, the old Hollywood hand, came up with one of the best lines of his career.

Asked by the debate moderator whether he thought that being the oldest president in history and clearly off his game in the first debate concerned him, Reagan responded, “Not at all. … I want you to know that also I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”

Game, set and match. Everyone in that Kansas City debate hall, including Mondale, roared with laughter. And the election was all but over.

A public servant to the end

Mondale’s political career unexpectedly resurfaced in 2002, when Sen. Paul Wellstone of Minnesota perished in a plane crash just more than a week before the election. The Democratic Party turned to Mondale to help save the U.S. Senate seat. But in the memorial service for Wellstone, rather than appearing mournful, the participants were so over-the-top partisan that it turned off the electorate and damaged Mondale’s candidacy; he lost, narrowly, to Republican Norm Coleman.

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Just two days before his death, Mondale sent out an email to his former staff. “Before I go I wanted to let you know how much you mean to me. Never has a public servant had a better group of people working at their side. Together we have accomplished so much, and I know you will keep up the good fight.”

Rest in Peace, Mr. Mondale. You fought the good fight.

Ken Rudin is the former political editor at NPR. He is the host of "Ken Rudin's Political Junkie" radio program.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Walter Mondale died Monday at the age of 93