The Candidate: Snoopy
Campaign Years: 1960, 1964, 1968, 2008
Corporate Sponsor: Hallmark Greeting Cards
Presidential Chops: Military strategist who can neutralize enemy air power from the roof of a doghouse.

In 1960, at the height of tensions with the Soviet Union, Hallmark took the tough-guy approach. Vote for Snoopy, "A Distinguished Combat Hero!" their cocktail napkins exclaimed. This early advertising relic is also notable for capturing the reality of women's roles in the 1960s, touting Lucy Van Pelt only as a possible First Lady—never mind that the role would require her to marry either a dog or her brother, Linus. (Charlie Brown winning was, and is, out of the question.)

Five decades later, Snoopy and friends are still active in national politics. Snoopy remains dominant in this fall's online election, which is meant to drum up sales for the classic Peanuts movie You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown. The Charles M. Schulz* Museum in California is also staging its own election and projects another Snoopy landslide.

Correction, Nov. 4, 2008: This piece originally misspelled Charles M. Schulz's last name. (Return to the corrected sentence.)