Continuing the look back at previous election years here is a panel discussion, part of the American Forum Of The Air series first broadcast on July 13, 1952, right after the close of the Republican Convention in Chicago and just before the opening of Democratic Convention, also in Chicago.

This panel consists of high ranking officials in both the RNC and DNC along with some of the earliest pollsters to engage in political races. Archibald Crossley, who pre-dated Gallup in his Crossley Poll and who also coined the phrase "ratings", along with Elmo Roper, political analyst and early commentator for CBS Radio join RNC's Albert "Ab" Herman and the DNC's India Edwards in a discussion that illustrates how little the political landscape has changed, but in some areas just how much it has changed.

The issues - then as now; taxes, defense, employment and corruption in Government. The races: the age old plea for a "clean campaign". The Politics: a much more pronounced and powerful Liberal wing of the Republican Party, which I had completely forgotten was instrumental in securing the nomination for Gen. Eisenhower. The Democrats; the Southern bloc.

Then as now there was talk of bitter factional splits within the GOP - the Internationalist/Liberal wing of the GOP in favor of Ike and the Conservative "base" in favor of Robert A. Taft. One gets the feeling Nixon was brought on board as a peace offering to soothe the arch conservatives in the ranks and bring about party unity.

Since, at the time of this broadcast there hadn't yet been the Democratic Convention (a week later), there was still speculation as to who the nominee would be and who the nominee's running mate would eventually become. It's interesting that, within the ranks there was talk about India Edwards, the vice-Chairman (chairperson) of the DNC as a possible vice-Presidential candidate, thus making her the first woman as running mate.

Then as now the whole question of the Independent Voter and just who they were was on the panelists minds. The Independents, it was determined, could swing a vote in either direction and they were hard to pin down.

Some things never change - certainly the ritual doesn't. The talk about long and bloody primary campaigns and the desire for less mud slinging seem completely relevant. It has always been and probably always will be about taxes, about employment and about corruption.

And that's what they were talking about in Picking a Winner on The American Forum Of The Air for July 13, 1952.

Continuing the occasional series about elections past, I ran across this address by Paul Tsongas from March 19, 1992 in which he announced dropping (or suspending his campaign as they politely call it) his bid for the Presidential nomination for 1992.

After a hopeful start as one of the first to declare his desire to run, Tsongas' campaign gained momentum during the early stages when Bill Clinton's campaign was seen as faltering and was seen as a front runner in the race. But, in what became Clinton Adviser James Carville's memorable phrase "the comeback kid", Bill Clinton won a surprising victory in the New Hampshire primaries and Tsongas' campaign never got back on track and on March 19th Tsongas called it quits.

Here is that address via NPR.

Amid fears the Republican Party of 1964 was taking a sharp turn to the right, with the rise in popularity of Barry Goldwater, and all indications pointing to his nomination as the Republican Presidential candidate, much attention was being paid on that election year to the outcome of the Republican Governor's Conference, being held in Cleveland Ohio in June, 1964.

And it was the current state of the Republican Party in 1964 that was the topic of conversation on this episode of Meet The Press, first aired on June 7, 1964.

Interviewed were the Chairman of the Conference, Kansas Governor John Anderson and Host of the Conference, Ohio Governor James Rhodes. A number of subjects were discussed - where candidate William Scranton figured in this picture, the Rockefeller wing of the Party - how other Governor's were feeling about the current climate.

Interesting sets of questions and interesting answers, as was always the case in this early incarnation of Meet The Press.

Here is that entire program.

1952 was certainly an interesting election year. Since Harry Truman declined the run for a second term, it blew the playing field wide open for both Republicans and Democrats.

The radio documentary, first aired on June 2, 1952, the day before the California and South Dakota primaries.

What's curious about this primary, the last one until the respective Conventions, it features none of the eventual Presidential candidates on the ballot. The Republicans were voting for California Governor Earl Warren and the Democrats were voting either for Estes Kefauver or a ballot originally intended for Harry Truman. Eisenhower was late in declaring his intentions and there appears to be no word about Adlai Stevenson, both would eventually become their party's Presidential candidate. Which just goes to show you how much the election process has changed over the years.

This half hour broadcast analyzes the upcoming election and features a number of interviews with key members of both parties as well as how the individual voter feels.

There really are no parallels to draw between the '52 election and the '12 election. It seems as though the entire political process has become unrecognizable in the sixty years since.

And maybe that's the problem.

Continuing the look at Politics and Elections past, here is a portion of an NPR All Things Considered Special election broadcast on the occasion of Pat Buchanan winning the 1996 New Hampshire Republican primary.

Winning by one percentage point over Bob Dole, who refused to concede, the victory of Pat Buchanan signaled a further shift to the Right for the Republican Party. Buchanan, a staunch Social Conservative, advocated a kind of "lock and load" policy where Foreign Policy was concerned. Also was vehemently opposed to Roe V. Wade and was determined to overturn it. He was also anti-gay, anti-government and favoring an isolationist view of our place in the rest of the world.

Interesting and eerie parallels between the Buchanan of 1996 and the current crop of hopefuls.

Here is the broadcast from February 22, 1996 from All Things Considered.

People have been arguing over just exactly when the Republican Party took its big turn to the right. Some say it was 1979 and The Reagan Years. Others site 1968 and the Nixon era and many say it was 1960 and the dawn of Goldwater.

My vote is for 1960. Yup. Fifty-two years - no recent phenomenon. Let's not feign shock.

So continuing my backward look at Politics and Presidential elections, I thought I would dig through the 1964 Republican Convention held in San Francisco. Just about everyone knows that convention by the Goldwater acceptance speech (the "moderation/extremism" one). But I thought I would run a clip from just after the final vote was tallied, giving Goldwater the nomination. This is from CBS News coverage featuring Walter Cronkite, Eric Severeid and a veritable who's who of CBS News notables of the day.

Cronkite and Severeid reflect on the vote and the phenomenon of Goldwater and what was going on with the Republican Party.

Eric Severeid: “You made an interesting observation Walter, it must’ve been hours ago Walter, I don’t even know what day it is anymore, that the word Liberal was not really used anymore by the middle-of-the-road/left-of-center Republicans, those from the East and the North. That they went to great efforts, all of them, here to establish their credentials as Conservatives. The word I suppose is Moderate these days . . .

Walter Cronkite: “They use Conservatives. Scranton used Conservative. Romney used Conservative . . .

Severeid: “Milton Eisenhower went to great effort to attach the label of Conservative to Governor Scranton. I don’t know where all of them will go now. Certainly Senator Keating has a problem and I’m not sure these . . .the effect of this Negro walkout, they’re leaving the party, not just leaving the Convention.”

The Convention was a turning point for a lot of Republicans, particularly the Moderate and Liberal wing. And while the Goldwater forces were hailing it as a victory, many were of the opinion this lack of diversity within the ranks was ultimately not a good thing for either party. Something which I suspect we're weathering through right now.

But there was a lot going on in that convention. Just prior to the commentary I left in a report from outside the convention of CORE pickets and the whole Civil Rights issue, causing many Blacks within the Republican party to bolt, not only the convention but the party itself.

Fascinating piece of history and certainly one element in the giant jigsaw puzzle of politics.

CBS News coverage of the 1964 Republican Convention for July 16, 1964.

Since we've been knee-deep in debates the past several weeks, I ran across this rather local debate from 1965. The occasion was the Mayoral election for New York City and it was a three-way race between Abraham Beame, John Lindsay and William F. Buckley (yes, that William F. Buckley).

One of the more fascinating hours in local politics, to be sure. I forgot that Buckley had political aspirations and was the candidate of the Conservative Party of New York in this election. From the sound of it, Abraham Beame, the Democrat, was being ganged up on by his two conservative opponents, with Lindsay the Republican challenger.

Moderated by WCBS anchor Joseph Denbo and running on a tight schedule, this is a rare glimpse into local elections, particularly big city local elections.

Enjoy and marvel at Mr. Buckley.

One billion Dollars a day was how it was roughly figured out, as Capitol Hill dissected the size of the Budget President Ford was handing to Congress this February 1st in 1975.

The astronomical sum didn't sit with most lawmakers, considering the U.S. was knee-deep in a recession that no intention of letting up anytime soon.

Money woes and the blame game were in massive supply all over Washington. With the price of gas having some called on a system of rationing in order to stop our dependence on Foreign Oil, which was indicated as a major contributor to our woes.

And the matter of Foreign Aid was another. A supplemental Aid bill to Southeast Asia was resoundingly defeated because, as one Senator pointed out - 55,000 casualties, untold billions already - enough was enough.

And it wasn't just Southeast Asia feeling the brunt of austerity. Aid to Turkey was pending and on hold because of the ongoing situation in Cyprus. The problem in this case was not having much idea of who exactly was running the show over in Istanbul.

To top it all off - our Trade Deficit had now achieved the dubious distinction of being the 2nd highest in the century.

Cold comfort and no doubt cause for another round of sleepless nights.

And so went the news for this February 1st 1975 as reported on CBS Radio's The World This Week (February 1st was a Sunday in 1975) as reported by Allan Jackson and a flood of reports.

The thread for News on January 27th in 1996 seemed to have a lot to do with standoffs and face-downs. Starting with news that chemical heir John DuPont shot and killed Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz and had barricaded himself in the bedroom of the mansion on his 600 acre estate outside Philadelphia and was forcing a standoff with Police had people wondering about the lethal combination of wealth and mental illness.

A standoff of another kind was averted. This one on Capitol Hill where a Stop-Gap Spending Bill was given an eleventh hour approval and instant signing by President Clinton, thus averting a third threatened government shutdown. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich wasn't happy, saying it was all media's fault that he didn't get his way and was promising fireworks when the issue would be creeping up again after March 15th.

Another kind of stand-off/face-down went on with the Whitewater Probe. The Grand Jury had finished hearing testimony of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and there were hints this thing was going to get political, with the ever-present Ken Starr in charge of the probe hinting at further questioning of Clinton in the near future.

And the OJ Simpson Civil Suit trial was put on hold as his Grand Jury Deposition seemed to drag on forever.

But everyone was looking forward to Super Bowl XXX which was scheduled to get going the next day.

When in doubt, throw a football.

And so went this particular day in Paradise, for January 27, 1996 as reported on The CBS World News Roundup.