Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman to run for Vice President on a major party ticket died today at 75 of blood cancer. In 1984, she and Walter Mondale lost in a landslide to Reagan and George H.W. Bush. She later worked as a lawyer and was a high profile supporter of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, until she stepped down after implying Obama's campaign success was due only to his race.
Cassie, the singer best known for her hair and for having hooked up with Diddy, turns 23 today. Macaulay Culkin is turning 29. Thalia, the Latin singer and wife of music honcho Tommy Mottola, is 38. Former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro is turning 74. Former Homeland Security boss Tom Ridge is 64. Valerie Simpson of Ashford & Simpson turns 63. Actor Chris Pine is turning 29. Shirley Manson of the band Garbage is 43. Upper East Side interior designer Lisa Jackson is turning 51. Legendary Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee turns 88. And New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz turns 57 today.
The inclusion of a woman on a major party's presidential ticket is unprecedented... for the Republicans. The Democrats did it back in 1984, when Walter Mondale selected Geraldine Ferrarro for his suicide mission against Reagan. Ferraro was considered risky due to her inexperience, but her selection and her brash, confident campaigning bumped Mondale way up in the polls. The VP debate that year pit George H. W. Bush, who'd been in Washington for years in various positions of authority and who was considered something of a foreign policy expert, against Ferraro, who'd only been in the House of Representatives for a couple years. The result? See for yourself in the clip above, in which Ferraro fights back against condescension from Vice President Bush. Think of it as a preview of tonight's Biden/Palin debate, except for the fact that Ferraro is smart and can speak English.
Former child star (and now author and indie actor) Macaulay Culkin is 28 today. Others celebrating today: Cassie, the pop star and occasional Diddy flame, is 22. Thalia, the Latin singer (and wife of Tommy Mottola) is 37. Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson is 42. Interior designer Lisa Jackson is 50. Former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro is turning 73. Former Homeland Security secretary Tom Ridge is 63. And Times crossword editor Will Shortz is 56.
