Remember Al Smith

I lit a candle this morning at church for Geraldine Ferraro, who died on Saturday. For those of you not old enough or who may not remember, Rep. Ferraro was the first woman on a major political party presidential ticket. Nearly a quarter century before Sen. McCain hoisted former-Governor Sarah Palin onto the national stage, former-Vice President Walter Mondale plucked Gerri Ferraro out of obscurity and into the history books in an attempt to kick-start his moribund presidential campaign.

Clearly she led the way for Palin. But also for Hillary Clinton's historic presidential run. And the appointment of women like Madeleine Albright and Condoleezza Rice to powerful positions. It could even be argued that she opened the door for President Barak Obama.

Sooner or later a woman will be elected president or vice president, and I fear
Geraldine Ferraro will become Al Smith. Everyone knows that in 1960 John F. Kennedy became the first Catholic elected president. Yet 32 years earlier, in 1928, Gov. Al Smith, paved the way when he became the first Catholic presidential nominee.

But Ferraro will always hold a special place in my heart: Mondale/Ferraro was the first presidential ticket for which I ever voted. Yeah, they went down in the biggest electoral landslide since 1936, carrying just Minnesota and DC, but that vote is still the one I'm proudest of.