Ticket readers solve the Great Political Button Mystery. It was ....

Well, thanks to everybody who participated in The Ticket's first genuine mystery political button guessing contest yesterday.

We had guesses -- all of them very informed, of course -- from across the country, from our loyal Ticket reader and talker Joe Mathieu on XM Satellite Radio's POTUS '08 channel to Debbie Meister.

The very wise Robert L. King chipped in, as did Brooks Jackson, another loyal Ticket reader who covered politics for many years with the Associated Press and CNN and now does such an impressive job monitoring American politics over at FactCheck.org.

On Wednesday morning we published a photo of this political button that Ellen Alperstein, yet another Ticket reader, had found among old belongings. The face sure looked familiar to many of us, kind of like the late Merv Griffin in a way.

But why would Merv "Hollywood-sweetheart-loved-your-show" Griffin have a political button? We just knew deep in our kind, gentle hearts brimming with springtime hope that some readers would recognize the guy.

And, sure enough, we were right!

We had guesses ranging from Gary Hart (Debbie) to a long-ago Pat Buchanan (Tominellay). "08" thought it was Tom Eagleton. "MB" suggested Mike Gravel. Wm Tate thought it was the mysterious head of that vast right-wing conspiracy that a certain ex-Democratic first lady often talked about.

Like us, Carter had the politician's name right on the tip of his/her tongue -- but just couldn't come up with it. Sonny Bono and Gilligan were other guesses.

We even had one contestant who thought the man was a disguised Prince Charles, who "Spitzered" that other woman for so many years over in Britain before marrying her. (A new verb to us, but one that works well in the current political season, even outside New York.)

We actually had four winners. The correct answer was ...

... former Michigan Democratic Sen. Donald Riegle Jr.

The winners were Gromit and Nathan, and we're gonna give it to Robert L. King, even though he said Ronald Riegle. Brooks gets bonus points for also identifying the face as Riegle in his younger days, "long before he became 20% of the Keating Five."

Their prize is free admission to The Ticket any time, day or night, for a full year or until what's-her-name gives up her never-ending quest for the White House grail. The four will have to share the free admission, and we'll work out a schedule with the times that each can enter here without charge.

And while we're talking about mysteries, e-mail us your favorite political buttons in jpg form. The older the better. Funny. Bitter. Sarcastic. We might have a little trouble with obscene.

But we'll start publishing photos as soon as we start getting them. We even know someone who has a genuine Al Smith button from 1928.

-- Andrew Malcolm

Comments

[Gromit]

I'd like to thank the Academy ... and Chad Lowe ...