25 of the Funniest Peanuts Comics From the 1960s

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In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson ran for election on a platform of civil rights and combating poverty. The Democrat had taken office in late November 1963 after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. His opponent, Republican Senator Barry Goldwater, advocated smaller government. Johnson won in a landslide, taking 61 percent of the popular vote and carrying 44 of the 50 states.

The presidential race dominated the news and reached into other parts of American life, including Charles Schulz’s popular comic strip Peanuts.

Beginning on Oct. 5, 1964, Schulz told a month-long story about Linus running for school president. His sister Lucy persuades him to run and becomes his campaign manager, while Charlie Brown joins the ticket as his running mate. Linus proves to be a capable candidate, giving speeches about “moral decline” and other vague political themes. At one point, he reaches 92 percent support in the polls. Then, on Oct. 21, his campaign takes a dramatic turn.

The 25-day arc is among Schulz’s funniest longer stories. Its slow buildup contains plenty of jokes and observations about politics that still resonate. Although many Peanuts comics work on their own, the election story has more impact when read in full, as newspaper readers encountered it in 1964.

Oct. 5, 1964

Schulz begins the story of Linus’ campaign for school president.

Oct. 6, 1964

Teachers’ salaries come up in the campaign. More than 60 years later, they remain an issue.

Oct. 7, 1964

Schroeder formally nominates Linus, finding another opportunity to talk about Beethoven along the way.

Oct. 8, 1964

In his acceptance speech, Linus raises a worrying possibility: he may do away with elections. It is a political joke that still feels relevant.

Oct. 9, 1964

Linus introduces Charlie Brown as his vice presidential candidate. Lucy responds, “Good Grief!”

Charlie Brown’s leadership skills are open to question. In the Christmas special that aired a year later, he struggles to direct a play and pick out a decent tree. Snoopy might have been a more entertaining choice for the ticket, though picking a dog would have been a gimmick. Some real American vice presidents, Aaron Burr among them, have left their own records open to criticism.

Oct. 10, 1964

The Oct. 10 strip also offers political commentary that feels relevant today.

Oct. 12, 1964

“The press is against me!” is another line that could sound familiar today.

The election story skips Oct. 11 because Sunday strips had to stand alone for readers who only received Sunday papers. They also had to be completed much further in advance than daily strips because they appeared in color and had wider distribution.