From “wildcat” miners to corporate giants
No taxes, free insurance, and eliminating poverty with credit cards. These were all promises made by ufologist and write-in presidential candidate Gabriel Green.
Obama made a rather weird promise: to not call Mitt Romney weird.
President Eisenhower's quasi-philosophical promise made some voters scratch their heads. He reportedly said, "Things are more like they are now than they've ever been before."
In 2012 Newt promised voters a moon colony by 2020. Sure, this may sound crazy, but in 1961 JFK promised to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade...and it certainly happened.
Herbert Hoover is said to have promised a chicken in every pot during his campaign of 1928.
In 1908 Teddy Roosevelt promised not to run again...but he took his chances anyway for a third term in 1912.
Cain promised to build an electrified fence on the US-Mexico border. "It's going to be 20 feet high. It's going to have barbed wire on the top. It's going to be electrified. And there's going to be a sign on the other side saying, 'It will kill you—Warning'," he said.
Michele Bachmann is yet another politician who made a promise without fist checking their geography and international politics. In the 2012 presidential race, the Republican contender promised to withdraw from Libya and Africa.
Trump vowed to stop eating Oreo cookies because Nabisco were "closing a factory in Chicago and they're moving to Mexico."
The front man of the punk rock band Dead Kennedys ran for mayor of San Francisco in 1980. His promise? To make businessmen wear clown suits.
Al Gore used a rather bizarre analogy when promising change. "A zebra does not change its spots," he said.
Reagan promised to be awake at all times. The then-president said he had "orders to be awakened at any time in the case of a national emergency, even if he's in a cabinet meeting."
Flying ticket counters, anyone? George W. Bush promised just that. He said, "I am here to make an announcement that this Thursday, ticket counters and airplanes will fly out of Ronald Reagan Airport."
During his 1989 presidential campaign, Alan Caruba promised to end boredom.
Dennis Kucinich was a man on a mission when promised to impeach and arrest George W. Bush.
Donald Trump promised "to gut" the Environmental Protection Agency. While Trump's administration didn't completely get rid of the EPA, it did reduce its budget.
Not only that, but if elected, Caruba said he would make 'Wheel of Fortune' host Vanna White First Lady.
The late eccentric journalist and author ran for sheriff of Pitkin County in 1970. His promise? To remove all the asphalt in Aspen and replace it with sod.
The former governor of Alaska got a bit confused in her geography, and indeed politics, when she said that "we gotta stand with our North Korean allies."
Donald Trump's promise to build a wall along the US-Mexico border was one of his most popular (and controversial) campaign promises. Trump did somehow deliver on that promise, except for the fact that, unlike he promised, Mexico didn't pay for it.
Reagan made a rather humorous promise during a 1984 presidential debate, when asked if he was too old to be president. Ronald Reagan's response was: "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience."
California congress candidate Andy Caffrey promised to smoke a joint on the steps of Capitol Hill.
Sources: (Complex) (The New York Times) (Listverse) (List25) (Political Dictionary)
See also: What do religions say about marijuana?
Legislation is often very thorough and bills end up being bulky documents. Maybe that's why the late Republican presidential candidate promised to veto any bill longer than three pages.
The former US senator made a wild promise during his presidential run with John Kerry. When trying to make a point about embryonic stem cells, Edwards said: "We will stop juvenile diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and other debilitating diseases. When John Kerry is president, people like Christopher Reeve are going get up out of that wheelchair and walk again."
The former vice president promised to deliver "the best educated American people in the world." Conversely, Quayle is also known for misspelling the word "potato" during a school visit.
The perennial candidate promised free ponies for every American if he won the 2020 presidential election. He also vowed to move the country to a pony-based economy. Supreme has a history of really good promises, including mandatory tooth-brushing and funding for time travel research.
Joe Biden's promise to a group of NYC students will probably make you giggle. Biden promised that Obama had a big stick. His exact words were "Now is the time to heed the timeless advice from Teddy Roosevelt. Speak softly and carry a big stick. End of quote. I promise you, the president has a big stick. I promise you."
The former senator is known for his conservative stance on a number of topics. So much so that he once promised to ban hard-core pornography. Soft porn seems to be acceptable, apparently.
Harding promised something many people wanted at the time, following World War I, and indeed was not easy to deliver. Harding promised a "return to normalcy."
Politicians make promises—that's just part of the job. But while many of these promises are coherent and do make sense to voters, others not so much. In fact, some promises American politicians have made are so wacky they deserve to be revisited. If anything, at least they'll get you a laugh.
From free ponies to moon colonies and everything in between, in the following gallery you'll get to know the craziest things politicians have promised. Click on.
Free ponies and other unusual promises made by American politicians
One politician promised voters a moon colony
LIFESTYLE Politicians
Politicians make promises—that's just part of the job. But while many of these promises are coherent and do make sense to voters, others not so much. In fact, some promises American politicians have made are so wacky they deserve to be revisited. If anything, at least they'll get you a laugh.
From free ponies to moon colonies and everything in between, in the following gallery you'll get to know the craziest things politicians have promised. Click on.