Headed to the White House exhibit gets city ramped for DNC

By Alex Lloyd  Gross

An exhibit at the National Constitution Center is taking place through the Democratic National Convention. In case you live under a rock,  that convention will be in town the last week of July. The city is already ramping things up and this exhibit is just one thing taking place. The NCC will also be apart of Political Fest  starting next week.  Headed To the White House is an inter active  gallery of presidential elections that took place in the past, and  it shows what it takes you get elected.

Most people are disgusted with this race, Donald Trump calls his opponent “Crooked Hillary” and Hillary Clinton just  dodged a bullet from the FBI and Attorney General that refused to prosecute her for mishandling classified information.  Political elections were not always this dirty.  Some night remember the Willie Horton ad  that got George Bush elected.  Others may remember this ad from Lyndon Johnson  in 1964.  It aired only once.

Remember the Nixon Now slogan?   Inside this exhibit, you can see campaign memorabilia from decades ago.  What was significant about President Harrison?   What about President Taft?   Better bone up on that  before you go in. There is an election game where trivia gets you votes during the electoral college. If you miss too many questions, the other player  wins the  election.  You can also learn about the electoral college.  It’s  the controversial way we elect our president every four years.

You can make up your own campaign ads  and children can make their own buttons.   Did you know back in the 1800,s  people running for president did not campaign much?  One man used to stand outside his house  in the mid west  and campaign from his front porch.  The exhibit will tell you who he was.  When a candidate goes to stump  for votes, that saying  goes back to the early 1900,s when a candidate would stand on a tree stump to speak. Remember, there were no PA systems  back then.

Photos of past campaigns and inaugurations are fascinating to see. They are  there, blown up and preserved.  With all of the negativity  coming from both campaigns, perhaps we should revert back to the 1800,s and not have   have elaborate campaigns.   If you are interested in campaigning for President,  you will need over a billion dollars.  Campaigns used to be  won on less than $100,000.