On the topic of History's Most Doomed Presidential Campaign, the six campaigns up for consideration between Craig and the panelists - political science professor and former political campaigner
Dan Schnur, actor/comedian
Bryan Callen and actor
Elijah Wood - are:
Gary Hart's bid for the Democratic nomination in 1988, which was derailed by his adultery;
Michael Dukakis' presidential bid as the Democratic nominee in 1988 which had image problems;
Al Gore's presidential bid as the Democratic nominee in 2000 which also had image problems;
Howard Dean's bid for the Democratic nomination in 2004 which was largely derailed by a shouting speech he made;
John McCain's presidential bid as the Republican nominee in 2008, the loss which is largely blamed on his choice of then unknown
Sarah Palin as his running mate; and
Mitt Romney's presidential bid as the Republican nominee in 2012 which had problems in tone. The panelists look at the merits of each campaign as the most doomed, and use as unofficial criteria those problems that were the most self-inflicted, and those that perhaps would not be deemed as doomed if they happened today. They also mention campaigns that did not make the list but perhaps should have. Their discussion closes with how these campaigns stack up against what within recent memory seems to be the most unusual current run to the presidency in 2016.
—Huggo