Working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide; the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build measurably better lives; the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. But let me help you, ms. Ferraro. Iranwe were held by a foreign government. You see her face tightens up. Let me just say, first of all, that i almost resent, Vice President bush, your patronizing attitude that you have to teach me about Foreign Policy. The next Vice President of the United States. [cheers and applause] we didnt know if the rocket was gonna blow up on the pad or get all the way to jupiter, but none of us could resist the idea of lighting the match. Sarah palin. Who . [cheers and applause] [upbeat hiphop music] back in 1984, the selection of Geraldine Ferraro as the first woman of a major u. S. Party president ial ticket catapulted Walter Mondales struggling campaign, taking it from dull to dazzling. Sarah palin knows that same feeling. Brought on to john mccains 2008 campaign to add a Little Energy and excitement, she did just that. Both women dealt with attacks that were not just political but personal. Nevertheless, these two trailblazers were arguably the two most consequential vp picks in all of history. [upbeat funk music] ladies and gentlemen of the convention, my name is Geraldine Ferraro. [cheers and applause] Geraldine Ferraro was a congresswoman from queens, new york. She was feisty. She was outspoken. She was from the district that archie bunker from tv lived in. It was that kind of inyourface, tell it like it is, no holds barred she had a perfect new york queens accent. My father was an immigrant. My grandparents, my mothers side, were very poor people. My greatmy grandfather was a street cleaner in new york. And all of a sudden, his granddaughter not even his grandson, his granddaughter was going to be in a position to run for Vice President of the United States. I mean, this country that they loved. We got, for the first time, a woman running for one of the top two offices in this country. She was qualified. She was a lawyer. She was a former prosecutor. She was smart. She was proud of her sex, and she didnt back down. Geraldine ferraro had a background as a prosecutor. She started the special victims unit in new york. Everyone knows about these units now because of the popularity of the tv show law order. Youre as guilty as he is, okay . Youre gonna be charged with kidnap, assault. She was olivia before olivia was olivia. But back then, to have a woman prosecuting these cases involving the most heinous crimes imaginable was, you know, unheard of. [lively music] 1984 was a time of great cultural optimism in the United States. The country had gone through what at the time was the deepest recession wed had since the Great Depression in 1981 and 1982. And now, it was in the middle of a great, rapid recovery from that recession. You had the triumph of the los angeles olympics in 1984. You had all kinds of corporate innovation, technological breakthroughs, going on in the computer industry, which added to that sense that it was, as the Reagan Campaign would say, morning in america. There was a lot of passing of the torch, and, you know, in a sense, the passing of the torch from ibm to apple has some resonance with the passing of the torch from men to Geraldine Ferraro on the ticket. I remember the apple ad. And, you know, its the woman running as the olympian, and it was this symbol of american womanhood you know, the power of american women. We shall prevail. Reagan had beat us in 80. Carter and i ran against him. At one point, it was close, but we were defeated pretty handsomely. Vice president bush and i would like to have your continued support and cooperation in completing what we began three years ago. I am, therefore, announcing that i am a candidate and will seek reelection. And then as i thought about running in 84, i was trying to come up with something more dramatic. Walter mondale, back during that president ial campaign, was up against, you know, ronald reagan, who was incredibly popular. So i will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponents youth and inexperience. [laughter] by 1984, i believe the gender gap for reagan was Something Like 10 or 12 points, which means men liked him 10 or 12 points better than women liked him. And there was a real falloff there. And the democrats said, lets do something about this. The Walter Mondale campaign thought they needed some pizzazz something that really sort of injected passion and injected interest. I looked around a lot, but i decided that if i could get a really strong woman who would be a good Vice President , that might make a big difference in the elections. I dont believe that the Democratic Party would have come up with this idea all on their own if it hadnt been for pressure from womens groups. There was a period of time at which during which fritz met with women representatives from around the country. He also invited out a whole bunch of us to talk to him about what our views were on the vice presidency went out to minnesota. But when all that was going on, i never really thought that it was gonna happen. I just kind of thought it was a nice thought that we would at least talk about Opening Doors of opportunity for women. But i never actually thought it would happen, and i certainly didnt think if it did, it was going to be me. Tip oneill, the speaker of the house, called me and told me, you should take geraldine. Shes very good. And she filled in a lot of holes for me. We were losing with ethnic americans, and she was a good catholic. Why do i get the feeling that you really want to be the Vice President ial candidate . I have no idea. Why, do i have a look on my face . Yeah, you look you look as thought youd really like that more than anything else in the world. I dont know if id like it more than anything else in the world. I think you have to admit, barry, its rather heady stuff. It is indeed. You know, the first woman to be on a national ticket. My goodness, the first. I heard a lot of rumblings that there was going to be a woman, and so i started doing my research. And everyone i talked to said one name, and that one name was Geraldine Ferraro. I was in san francisco. I was giving a speech going to give a speech, and i got a call from fritz, and fritz said, i would like for you to be on the ticket. I would like for you to be my running mate. And i said to him, im terribly honored, and of course i said yes. And then after i hung up, i kind of was in a state of shock, and one of my staff people from my Congressional Staff was outside of the office. And i opened the door, and i said, guess what . Were making history. [chuckles] shes smart. Shes tough. Shes got a lot of energy. And she will carry the fight in an impressive way to the republicans. A year and a half ago in this chamber, i announced my candidacy for president of the United States. [cheers and applause] and today, im delighted to announce that i will ask the Democratic Convention to nominate Geraldine Ferraro of new york to run with me for the white house. [cheers and applause] the audacity of this selection of Geraldine Ferraro is very hard to appreciate today. Keep in mind, 1984, there were 24 women in the entire United States congress 24. We already had women flying in space. We had women doing lots of things. But no woman had ever run for a Major Party Ticket. When you think about it, isnt that an anomaly that half of the nations population have never been seriously considered for the vice presidency . It was an allmale show. When he picked Geraldine Ferraro, did you think that was a winning move . Obviously, i think ms. Ferraro was a very qualified person, but i didnt have i didnt realize what kind of an impact it would have, pro or con. We wereat that point, we were in a pretty strong position. She wasnt gonna make up ten points, which is what our lead was. Fritz mondale knows that americas really back. And im honored to join him in this campaign for the future. Thank you. [applause] this is not identity politics where youre just gonna say, well, i got a woman. Vote for me. That was not it. Im looking at a talented candidate who happened to be a woman. [applause] i give to you our choice your choice our next Vice President of the United States, Geraldine Ferraro [cheers and applause] in my office, the abc news office, the newsroom off of the convention floor, one of the producers held a meeting, and he said, okay, guys, give your floor passes to the women. Its their night. [upbeat jazz music] [cheers and applause] i dont think ive ever been in a place where the air was more electric, where the excitement was more palpable, where the feelings were so good. The place could have floated to the moon, i think. Everybody was so excited about it. She could barely begin her speech because, Gerry Gerry Gerry crowd Gerry Gerry GerryGerry Gerry Gerry i was fascinated watching the audience. I mean, i was as taken by them as they were by me. When i looked at the floor, i mean i would say 80 to maybe 90 of the people on the floor were women. Finally the audience simmered down, and she was able to begin. I stand before you. To proclaim tonight america is the land where dreams can come true for all of us. [cheers and applause] people sensed it was historic. And so youd look out, and you could see the people smiling. You also saw tears running down peoples faces. Tonight, the daughter of an immigrant from italy. Has been chosen. [cheers and applause] has been chosen to run in the new land my father came to love. She spoke about being the daughter of an italian immigrant the opportunities that she had in the United States of america to pursue education. If you work hard and play by the rules, you can earn your share of americas blessings. Those are the beliefs i learned from my parents. And those are the values i taught my students as a teacher in the Public Schools of new york city. It isnt right that a woman should get paid 59¢ on the dollar for the same work as a man. [cheers and applause] and the entire place erupted. At one point i saw Betty Friedan and bella abzug, who were not the best of friends. Dancing in the aisles together. There was just such a sense of excitement and joy. And this was a feeling never mind politics as usual. Never mind the nitty gritty of who deserves what. There was a feeling that this is something that now made everything possible. Clearly, the Democratic Party is something that they used that message to focus on the audience that they wanted to attract women, immigrants, essentially workingclass and middleclass families. I believed, the night she was nominated, that they had a chance to win the white house. I believed it because of the energy, because of the excitement, and because of the possibilities. I believed it the way everybody believes that when youre in the midst of something, and its exciting, it could really happen. I happened to be in the white house the afternoon that it was announced that Geraldine Ferraro was going to be the democratic pick for Vice President , and people were concerned. There was the whole issue of the gender gap in those days, and it was believed that putting a woman on the ticket would really help mondale. The public really reacted very powerfully. When we got ready to hit the road after the convention, all the polls were up dramatically. And she was at the center of that new confidence that we built. [dramatic music] now comes the big test the debate with her opponent, and none other than the big george bush. The bushferraro debate, which was in philadelphia, was supposed to be her big moment to shine. Theres legitimate reason for the cia to be in existence, and thats to gather intelligence information for our security. But when i see the cia doing things like theyre doing down in central america, supporting a covert war, no, i dont support that kind of activity. Ferraro didnt know a lot about foreign affairs, Foreign Policy. This had not been her thing. She was a quick study. But at one point in the debate, Vice President bush said Something Like, well, well, let me help you with that, mrs. Ferraro. I think i just heard mrs. Ferraro say that she would do away with all covert action. They could never wrap their minds around the fact that ferraro was the name she went by. Her husbands name was zaccaro. She was ms. Ferraro if anything, nonetheless. And if so, that has very serious ramifications, as the Intelligence Community knows. This is serious business. And sometimes, its quiet support for a friend. Uh, and so ill leave that one there. But let me help you with the difference, ms. Ferraro, between iran and the embassy in lebanon. She went crazy. You could seeyou can see her face tightens up, her eyes start to narrow. Let me just say, first of all, that i almost resent, Vice President bush, your patronizing attitude that you have teach me about Foreign Policy. Ive been a member of congress for six years. I was there when the embassy was held hostage in iran. And i have been there, and i have seen what has happened in the past several months 17 months with your administration. Secondly, please dont categorize my answers either. Leave the interpretation of my answers to the American People who are watching this debate. She went after him. She said, you know, dont talk to me that way. Ive earned this as a national candidate, so dont ever get condescending with me again. And i think i think [laughs] i think he felt hed been spanked. I think that George Herbert walker bush felt it was beneath him to be debating this woman. And, of course, the next day, he runs into a bunch of longshoremen in new jersey or somewhere and says, hey, we kicked a little ass last night, didnt we . Well, come on. Did i win that debate . [cheers and applause] [dramatic music] there was certainly a period of time when she was covered favorably. But then, that soon fell apart. And her marriage was scrutinized, her role as a mother was scrutinized, certainly her looks were scrutinized. As you start getting into the background and the life and we didnt have to do much of anything. It was all there. We knew she couldnt be a very viable factor, because just the scrutiny the scrutiny pulled her back and distracted the campaign. The press, on an ongoing basis, comments on what Geraldine Ferraro is wearing and on her dress size. What is the last time that youve seen commentary on a president ial male and his suit size . There was also a controversy about whether ferraro should raise her hand holding mondales hand or not whether that would be appropriate. They didnt want the American Public to get the wrong idea. It sounds absurd to be saying this in 2016, right . But that was the rule. Its never just enough to be as good as a man in public life. And ask any woman whos run and has been elected you always have to be a little bit better to prove youre as good. In the case of Geraldine Ferraro, you have a person who was attacked for her faith, you know her stance on abortion being a prochoice woman, being part of the Democratic Party, but also being a catholic, presented a real problem for her. If congresswoman ferraro or anyone else states that abortion is not absolutely, categorically forbidden by the Catholic Church, then thats wrong. As a devout catholic, does it trouble you that so many of the leaders of your church disagree with you, and do you think that youre being treated unfairly in any way by the Catholic Church . [sighs] let me tell you that i did not come to my position on abortion very lightly. My personal feelings that i would never have an abortion, but i was not quite sure if i were ever to become pregnant as a result of a rapeif i would be that selfrighteous. Thats my religious view. I will accept the teaching of the church, but i cannot impose my religious views on someone else. I truly take an oath as a public official to represent all the people in my district, not only the catholics. If there comes a time where i cannot practice my religion and do my job properly, i will resign my job. As a catholic who was prochoice, Geraldine Ferraro faced very, very hostile demonstrations and crowds and probably more scrutiny than any other candidate might have, given those circumstances. And it also, i think, was a turning point to some extent in the coverage. We were at an event, and the opposition demonstrations had been particularly ugly that day. During the new deal [indistinct shouting] what about