…from The Washington Post…
Mr. Mondale was a major player on the national political stage for two decades, beginning in 1964, when he was appointed to the Senate seat from Minnesota that his political mentor, Hubert H. Humphrey, had given up to become President Lyndon B. Johnson’s vice president.
On Capitol Hill, Mr. Mondale rose in the party hierarchy while establishing a reputation as a diligent legislator and a champion of such liberal causes as open housing and anti-poverty programs. His star ascended still further in 1976 when Jimmy Carter, the former Georgia governor and Democratic nominee for president, chose him as his running mate….
image…Presidential candidate Walter Mondale (D) and his running mate, Geraldine Ferraro, in 1984. (Jack Smith/AP)
Cory Booker
@CoryBooker
We drink deeply from wells we did not dig. I mourn the passing of VP Walter Mondale, whose lasting legacy includes a law that helped my family move into a home in an all-white neighborhood with good schools that gave me the foundation to serve—just as he did—as a U.S. Senator.
Larry Sabato
@LarrySabato
Some time after Mondale lost overwhelmingly to Reagan in 1984, Mondale called his old friend George McGovern who had also lost 49 states to Nixon in 1972. “George, this is tough. How long does it take to recover from a big defeat?” “Fritz, when it happens, I’ll let you know.”
RIP. A good public servant and a true “prairie populist”.
Yes he was, both he and Joan were very good kind people. I was a floor manager for Fritz at the 84 convention and then did advance work for Joan in the campaign. I would do it again.