This political cartoon, from 1903, reminded me a little bit of this year's election campaign with all the candidates that have come and gone. In this cartoon the various factions are building up a potential candidate in snow, but soon he'll be melted away by the Sun. The characters are: the Southern Republican, the Ohio Republican, the anti-administration Republican, Wall Street, Snowman (Hanna) and the Sun (Roosevelt). The artist was NEA (National Enterprise Association) cartoonist Robert W. Satterfield. I saw it in the the Tacoma Times, December 21, 1904, on the Library of Congress Historical Newspaper Collection website.
I don't know that much about the 1904 election, but read that Ohio Senator Mark Hanna was a potential candidate against incumbent Republican President Teddy Roosevelt. Some members of the Republican party considered TR too radical and wanted Hanna as the candidate. Hanna died in February 1904 and ultimately wasn't able to participate in the election.
Mark Hanna photographed in 1896 by W. J. Root from wikipedia
A search of the term "Hanna Boom" brought forth the following article from the publication The Country Gentlemen, Albany, New York, Volume 69, January 21, 1904, page 65:
"Review of Passing Events
The leading political event of the week was the emergence of the Hanna boom. Such a boom has been known to exist for some time subterraneously, its object being to make Sen. Hannah instead of President Roosevelt the presidential nominee of the next Republican convention. Senator Hanna has denied strenuously that any such boom was under way; but last week one of his supporters was brought to admit that while in no sense a candidate for the nomination, if duty calls and the rank and file of the party desire him to become a candidate, Senator Hanna will waive his personal feelings in the matter and permit his friends to nominate him. Of course the call of duty may not be sufficiently urgent to interfere with Pres. Roosevelt's program; but the senator, as a practical politician is apt to do considerable preliminary sounding, and if he hears the call, he will undoubtedly mean business.
While the Republicans appear to have more candidates than they need, the Democrats are still engaged in an uncertain search for presidential timber. Many of those who turned toward Mr. Cleveland at the first are now inclined to fix their hopes on Mr. Richard Olney of Massachusetts, who was Cleveland's Atty. Gen. and Secretary of State. The radical wing of the party still have Mr. Bryan, whose return from Europe with fresh oratorical laurels and new ideas has been made the vacation of several rallies in New York City. Then there is William R. Hearst, proprietor of the New York American and other such newspapers, who is laboring industriously to stretch his neck to the presidential height, and who is said to be setting up a complete newspaper outfit in St. Louis, where the Democratic nominating convention is to be held July 6, in order to exercise his journalistic charms upon the delegates at close range."
Sources and Further Reading:
Cartoon Source:
Library of Congress, Chronicling America, Historic American Newspapers website:
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/
See more Teddy Roosevelt cartoons in the book, T. R. In Cartoon, Collected and Edited by Raymond Gros:
http://www.archive.org/details/trincartoongros00raymrich
Read more on the 1904 election and Senator Mark Hanna:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1904
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Hanna
