The Screwups of Campaign '08

Poll Results

Ranking the Gaffes

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We all make mistakes, but few get as much notice as the high-profile goofs committed by politicians on the campaign trail. Here's how you ranked the candidate gaffes of 2008.



Rank
Name
Candidate
Avg. Rating
Total Votes

1
Sunni/Shi'ite Slip
John McCain
9
490

2
Sniper Misfire
Hillary Clinton
9
479

3
Surge Screw-Up
John McCain
8
1,489

4
Geography Glitch
John McCain
8
1,145

5
Gramm Gaffe
John McCain
8
961

6
Tobbacco Warning
John McCain
8
938

7
Social Security "Disgrace"
John McCain
8
854

8
Terrorism Tussle
John McCain
8
766

9
RFK Tribute?
Hillary Clinton
8
726

10
Lobbyist Loss
John McCain
8
616

11
Unruly Underlings
John McCain
8
469

12
Hapless Halloween
John McCain
8
433

13
Rationale
Hillary Clinton
8
428

14
Hagee Moment
John McCain
8
399

15
Mistaken March
Mitt Romney
8
270

16
McCain's Housing Crisis
John McCain
8
126

17
McCain's Rich Index
John McCain
8
122

18
"Czechoslovakia" Confusion
John McCain
7
1,024

19
Coler Barrier
Hillary Clinton
7
631

20
Colombia Crash
Hillary Clinton
7
520

21
"Hussiein" Hiccup
John Mccain
7
373

22
Bill Problem
Hillary Clinton
7
318

23
BET Botched Blast
Hillary Clinton
7
275

24
MLK Mischaracterization
Hillary Clinton
7
274

25
Palin's Doctrine?
Sarah Palin
7
268

26
Palin's Takeover Tale
Sarah Palin
7
175

27
McCain's ER Care Plan
John McCain
7
132

28
"Bitter" Bungle
Barack Obama
6
655

29
Middle East Mishap
Hillary Clinton
6
504

30
Pastor Problem
Barack Obama
6
439

31
Power Outage
Barack Obama
6
433

32
Freudian Slip
John McCain
6
392

33
Palin's Pledge of Allegiance
Sarah Palin
6
156

34
Presumptuous Presidential Seal
Barack Obama
5
842

35
History Lesson
Barack Obama
5
818

36
Muslim Snub
Barack Obama
5
761

37
NAFTAGate
Barack Obama
5
327

38
McCain's Green Screen, Take 2
John McCain
5
136

39
McCarthy Comment
Barack Obama
5
7

40
Unfriendly Behavior
Barack Obama
4
1,015

41
Translation Trip-Up
Barack Obama
4
713

42
"Typical" Grandma
Barack Obama
4
515

43
"Proud" Wife
Barack Obama
4
359

44
Biden's "Stand Up" Slip Up
Joe Biden
4
200

45
Obama's "Muslim" Mishap
Barack Obama
4
192

46
Biden's Palin Demotion
Joe Biden
4
159

47
Obama's Geography Goof
Barack Obama
4
135

48
Biden's "Barack" Bungle
Joe Biden
4
129

49
Obama's Presidential Introduction
Barack Obama
4
123

50
Word Game
Barack Obama
3
340

51
Obama's Penn State Fumble
Barack Obama
3
176

52
Unanswered Call
Barack Obama
0
0

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