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Staying in the early 20th Century today. Here is an address by the legendary William Jennings Bryan, who may probably be best known for his role in the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925; teaching Evolution in public Schools. Bryan died within hours of the trials end. Although Bryan came to epitomize the Liberal Wing of the Democratic Party, he was a staunch prohibitionist and staunchly anti-Darwin, whose theory of Evolution was the basis for the famous trial. He unsuccessfully ran for President in 1896, 1900 and 1908 and was appointed Secretary of State in the Wilson Administration in 1913.

Here is the last portion of his address to the 1908 Democratic Convention, recorded several days later, on July 21, 1908 for posterity and also to be used for the Bryan campaign.

Later known as the "Ideal Republic" Address, here is the transcript of that speech since, being recorded in 1908, is a little hard to decipher in places:

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It's a little hard to imagine this radio address is actually from 1948. The problems Progressive Party Presidential Candidate Henry Wallace discusses during this campaign talk are somewhat eerie in their similarities to our current situation.

Political corruption, the over-bearing influence of Wall Street and the Banking system over elected officials. The manufactured prices, the hysteria and the fear mongering - it's all there. Only it's 1948.

Henry Wallace was an ardent New Dealer and Secretary of Agriculture before becoming vice-President during FDR's third term. After FDR's death, Wallace broke with the party and clashed with Truman over domestic and foreign matters. Wallace was repeatedly smeared by both Democrats and Republicans as being pro-Communist, and the fact that he enjoyed a cordial relationship with Moscow probably didn't help matters any.

But he did speak about things that have come back to haunt us now.

So here, in its entirety, is Henry Wallace's Campaign address from July 29, 1948.

And keep reminding yourself of that as you're listening.

Since the name Nelson Rockefeller has been brought up lately with regards to the current state of the GOP and the 2012 election, I ran across this Meet The Press interview with Nelson Rockefeller on the subject of his tax proposals to President Eisenhower, but really about whether or not he was planning on running for Governor of New York.

In doing a tap dance routine that would make Gregory Hines proud, Rockefeller skirts and double-skirts around the issue of running for the State House.

As a Moderate-bordering-on-Liberal Republican, his views were more in line with the Democratic Party than his own and he served in various capacities in the Roosevelt, Truman as well as Eisenhower administrations. His particular brand of politics as a Rockefeller Republican came to become the description of anyone in the Republican Party who espoused moderate values, often accompanied with ridicule.

He left a considerable involvement in Public Service in 1956 to concentrate on New York politics and, contrary to his dodging of the question during this Meet The Press installment he ultimately ran, and successfully won four terms as Governor before his brief appearance as vice-President during the Ford years.

Here is that Meet The Press from April 20, 1958 featuring Lawrence Spivak and Company.

(Shirley Chisholm - just slightly ahead of her time)

When people run through lists of Presidential candidates, the ones who tried but didn't quite get there, the name Shirley Chisholm doesn't really ring any bells with people who weren't around for the '72 elections.

During a time of protest and great upheavals (the Womens Movement got it's big kick off in 1970 if you'll remember), the idea of a black woman running for President was probably a little bit much for mainstream America to deal with. It was, if anything an opportunity to kick a few doors down and to free up the dialogue and, even though I would like to think Shirley Chisholm was able to do that, the reality was it didn't, least not for a while.

But I suspect not a lot of people have heard Shirley Chisholm (she died in 2005 after leaving the political scene some years earlier) or had a chance to hear where she stood on issues. This clip comes from a PBS program called "Thirty Minutes" from April 28, 1972. The questions are pointed and Chisholm doesn't flinch.

Shirley Chisholm: “We double talk. You know, we don’t carry out what we really mean. And this is why I think the American people have come to distrust their politicians, have come to distrust their leaders. Because we say one thing and we do something completely different. We have to restructure our foreign policy in such a way that our dollars, our monies that we work very hard for in this country does not continue to perpetuate countries that suppress liberties of other people.”

She came around at a time when all things were possible, despite established machines to the contrary. Had she made it or at least got in a position to implement change, it's a tantalizing thought to consider what might have been.

(Henry Wallace in 1939 - before he was vice-President or Presidential candidate, had the unenviable task of Secretary of Agriculture)

Most everyone interested in Presidential campaigns past is familiar with Henry Wallace, who ran for President on the Progressive ticket in 1948. Prior to that he was a moderately familiar voice as vice-President to FDR in 1940. But in 1939 he was still Secretary of Agriculture, a post appointed by FDR in 1933. It was not a particularly popular place to be, with price controls on cotton and pork and forcing farmers to slaughter pigs and plow under cotton in order to keep prices up. Nonetheless, Wallace did the best with what was handed him and he implemented a number of New Deal programs during his tenure, including the AAA Farm Program and farm subsidies and emerged as one of the best Agriculture Secretaries the country ever had. Here is one of his rare appearances, addressing a Jefferson Day dinner on April 22, 1939.

Henry Wallace: “Problems of Agriculture are not insoluble as long as the machinery is available to farmers to enable them to cope with their problems. Advance indications are that participation in the AAA Farm Program this year will be the greatest it has ever been. Nearly six million farm families, eighty-five percent of all the farm families in the United States will cooperate in 1939 in this program of balanced farming and soil conservation. In the corn and wheat region, the striking increase in interest is evidenced by the fact from fifteen to twenty percent more farmers are taking part this year than last.”

Less than ten years later he would break with the Democratic Party of Harry Truman and forge his own bid for the Presidency. But that's another story.

So March 14th 1984 had a lot to do with Super Tuesday, which the previous day was (which just so happened was also yesterday in 2012).

The big winners were Gary Hart and Walter Mondale, with Hart picking up 171 delegates to Mondale's 161. Hart was confident he would go the distance. Not going the distance was George McGovern who, as promised he would do so if he didn't win first or second place in Massachusetts, dropped out of the race on this Wednesday morning. All the pundits agreed, the horse race was underway.

In other news: Atlantic City New Jersey Mayor Michael Matthews was recalled in a special election that took place the day before.

Convicted murderer James "Cowboy" Autry was put to death at 12:01 on this day in Texas. The first of what would be four executions to take place in Texas for the month of March.

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams was shot and wounded by an unknown attempted assassin. Adams was recovering from the ordeal.

On Capitol Hill this day - The Senate Appropriations Committee proposed expanding funding for our excursions in Latin America. First was increased funding for CIA and their covert war in Nicaragua and the second was tripled spending on Military aid to El Salvador. Both funding increases were asked for by the Reagan White House.

And a ceasfire in Beirut Lebanon was appearing to take hold, however shaky it seemed.

And that's how the day went, this March 14th in 1984 as reported on The CBS World News Roundup.

As the War in Europe started to heat up, all eyes were on the border dispute between Finland and Russia, this March 9th in 1940.

With Germany pressing Moscow for a settlement, fighting had broken out while this broadcast was on the air. The French government was optimistic the Finns would successfully repel Soviet aggression, and Hitler sent Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop on a mission to Rome to try and find some resolution.

Meanwhile, German radio was quick to accuse the U.S. of inciting the Finns to carry on their dispute, although in Washington there was no confirmation or denial of those rumors or give any indication they would have anything to do with the conflict now or in the future.

But Capitol Hill had its own set of situations to deal with. Since it was an election year (1940 Presidential elections), squabbles erupted within the Democratic party over a piece of legislation being introduced called The Hatch Act, or as it was referred to, the "Pure Politics Law" and Congresswoman Mary Norton, Labor Committee Chairperson, condemned the Smith committee move to drop the Labor Relations Board and revise the current Labor law. Norton threatened to take the issue before the voters and make it a campaign topic in 1940.

And so went this day, along with much other news for March 9, 1940 as presented by NBC's News Of The World with reports direct from London and Berlin by reporters who seemed to have trouble reading their own copy.

News as it happens. Or news, it just so happens.

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.

Nothing like Crystal Ball gazing and knowing the outcome beforehand. That's what it sometimes feels like, listening to a lot of these interview programs of the past. We know better now, but we didn't know at the time. And maybe that was a good thing, particularly in 1972.

But in August of 1972, on the eve of the Republican Convention, Lawrence E. Spivak and Meet The Press did an interview with two Democrats, Senator Erneset Hollings (D-S.C.) and Representative Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill (D-Mass.) on the chances of a Democratic win in 1972. Interesting when you consider that less than two months earlier arrests were made in connection with a burglary at The Democratic National Committee offices and what that would eventually evolve into.

Of course, at the time who would know?

History in hindsight. Always interesting.

(Billy Carter - the thorny bumpkin in Jimmy's side)

August 19, 1980 - dog days of summer and all. Still, there were the Senate Hearings on Billy Carter's relationship with the Libyans, the strikes that started in the Gdasnk Shipyards in Poland were spreading all over the country and everyone was being cautious. The 1980 Presidential Election season was going full-blast and third Party Candidate Rep. John Anderson was busy taking pot-shots at Reagan and Carter.

Rep. John Anderson: “I have suggested, and I am trying to be as frank and honest with you this morning, that I clearly believe that the nominee of the one so-called Major Party, the Republican Party, could take us in the wrong direction. But let me be impartial in my criticism and say that I think the man who was just re-nominated by the Democratic Party, President Carter has simply taken us in circles.”

And the most high-tech thing being pushed in the marketplace was Smith-Corona.

All on this particular day via The World Tonight.

Feel better now?