3. Nixon and Checkers
With his star on the rise in Washington, Richard Nixon became the Vice Presidential Nominee on General Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidential ticket in 1952. Not all approved of this appointment however, as the News Media of the day began to investigate a personal fund Nixon had set up in which his political campaigning expenses would be reimbursed by his donors. Nixon looked like he was being bought, and as the cries for his resignation began to raise in volume, Senator Nixon addressed the nation on Television. A medium in its infancy and a candidate on the cusp of another game changing promotion came together on September 23rd of that year, and the young Senator told the story about how one of his Texas donors sent him and his family a present. That present is the infamous Cocker Spaniel by the name of Checkers, the dog that his daughter fell in love with and whom he would never separate from his family. Scandal dispatched, Eisenhower and Nixon would be on their way to their two term career together, despite an attempt to demote Nixon to a Cabinet Member during the 1956 election.