His mother was a Slovenian immigrant who died when he was 10. (The fact that his father was a coal miner will give you the wrong impression, though Wikipedia claims he was born in the same state he still calls home.)
He was a congressional aide when he accompanied a delegation that went to South Vietnam in 1970. Life magazine published the pictures he took of "tiger cages" at Con Son Island (South Vietnamese prison; ensuing scandal vaguely comparable to Abu Ghraib).
This sponsor of the Americans With Disabilities Act won the Iowa caucus by a wide margin but did not finish in the top three in the New Hampshire primary.
Posted by Matt Bruce at January 24, 2006 11:45 AMHey, Matt, I can't find your phone number or email. Can you email me? elmira@umich.edu Thanks!
Based on where the coal is, I'm going to guess Arlen Specter.
I like the thought of Pennsylvania, but Arlen Specter was born in Kansas and my mind can't contemplate the idea of a Jewish coal miner.
This candidate had better have identifiable ties to the Appalachians or central Rockies for that coal miner clue to be good. The only son of a coal miner I know is Harry Reid, who has never run for President, so I'll pass.
Posted by: M.S. at January 24, 2006 01:51 PMIn hindsight it's a bad clue. Modified a bit to redirect your geotargeting.
Posted by: me at January 24, 2006 01:58 PMHmm, until about WW2 the state in question actually had a thriving coal industry, though apparently it had declined by the 1950s.
Posted by: me at January 24, 2006 02:05 PMThe new clue doesn't help. But I'll guess Dennis Kucinich given his last name (which I imagine isn't his mother's maiden name, but at this point is about the best I can do).
Posted by: Mark at January 24, 2006 02:16 PMuntil about WW2 the state in question actually had a thriving coal industry, though apparently it had declined by the 1950s.
Paul Simon?
Posted by: M.S. at January 25, 2006 05:44 AMNever mind, I looked him up and he was way too old (and not an Illinois native anyway).
Posted by: M.S. at January 25, 2006 05:45 AMhmm...Harkin or Gephardt. I'll guess Harkin.
Posted by: Brian Ulrich at January 25, 2006 11:24 AMYeah, his winning the Iowa caucus (76% delegate strength) wasn't exactly a surprise.
Posted by: me at January 25, 2006 03:04 PMI got this one on my first guess, based solely on the clue about winning the Iowa caucus but not finishing in the top 3 in N.H. I knew nothing about the other clues.
The only thing I remember about his presidential campaign is that he raised eyebrows with his calculated use of moderately foul language in an attempt to appear folksy.