Editing Walter Mondale (section)

==Post-vice presidency (1981–2021)==
===1984 presidential campaign===
{{main|Walter Mondale 1984 presidential campaign}}{{Further|1984 Democratic Party presidential primaries|1984 United States presidential election}}
After losing the 1980 election, Mondale returned briefly to the practice of law at [[Winston and Strawn]], a large Chicago-based law firm, but he intended to return to politics before long.<ref>{{cite news |last=Taylor |first=Stuart Jr. |title=Mondale's Base as Legal Counsel and Candidate |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/31/us/mondale-s-base-as-legal-counsel-and-candidate.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=April 20, 2021 |date=January 31, 1984 |archive-date=April 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420220619/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/31/us/mondale-s-base-as-legal-counsel-and-candidate.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Mondale ran for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in the [[Democratic Party presidential primaries, 1984|Democratic presidential primaries]] preceding the 1984 election, and was soon the front-runner. His opposition included Reverend [[Jesse Jackson]] and Senator [[Gary Hart]] from Colorado. Hart won the [[New Hampshire primary]] in March, but Mondale had much of the party leadership behind him. To great effect, Mondale used the [[Wendy's]] slogan "[[Where's the beef?]]" to describe Hart's policies as lacking depth. Jackson, widely regarded as the first serious African-American candidate for president, held on longer, but Mondale gained the nomination with the majority of delegates.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=United States presidential election of 1984 -–United States government |encyclopedia=Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1984 |access-date=April 20, 2021 |archive-date=April 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404084849/https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1984 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Mondale Ferraro bumper sticker 1.jpg|thumb|A Mondale—Ferraro bumper sticker]]
At the [[1984 Democratic National Convention|Democratic National Convention]], Mondale chose [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]] Geraldine Ferraro from New York as his running mate, making her the first woman nominated for that position by a major party. Aides later said that Mondale was determined to make a historic choice with his vice presidential candidate, having considered San Francisco Mayor [[Dianne Feinstein]] (female and Jewish); Los Angeles Mayor [[Tom Bradley (American politician)|Tom Bradley]], an African American; and [[San Antonio]] Mayor [[Henry Cisneros]], a Mexican American, as finalists.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,926644,00.html |title=Trying to Win the Peace |first=Evan |last=Thomas |author-link=Evan Thomas |date=July 2, 1984 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930092516/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,926644,00.html |archive-date=September 30, 2007}}</ref> Others preferred Senator [[Lloyd Bentsen]] because he would appeal to the Deep South, or even nomination rival [[Gary Hart]]. Ferraro, as a Catholic, was criticized by some Catholic Church leaders for being [[pro-choice]]. Much more controversy erupted over her changing positions about the release of her husband's tax returns, and her own ethics record in the House. Ferraro was on the defensive throughout much of the campaign, largely negating her breakthrough as the first woman on a major national ticket. She was also the first Italian American to reach that level in American politics.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/27/us/politics/27geraldine-ferraro.html |title=She Ended the Men's Club of National Politics |first=Douglas |last=Martin |newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 26, 2011 |access-date=April 20, 2021 |archive-date=April 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420220614/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/27/us/politics/27geraldine-ferraro.html |url-status=live}}</ref><!--see note at Geraldine Ferraro with this same source for more details – which would be excessive for sourcing this claim, in this article-->

When Mondale made his acceptance speech at the Democratic Convention, he said: "By the end of my first term, I will reduce the Reagan budget deficit by two‑thirds. Let's tell the truth. It must be done, it must be done. Mr. Reagan will raise taxes, and so will I. He won't tell you. I just did."<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/conventions/chicago/facts/famous.speeches/mondale.84.shtml |title=Mondale's Acceptance Speech, 1984 |publisher=[[CNN]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606014227/http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/conventions/chicago/facts/famous.speeches/mondale.84.shtml |archive-date=June 6, 2013}}</ref> While this was meant to show that Mondale would be honest with voters, it was instead largely interpreted as a campaign pledge to raise taxes to spend on domestic programs, which was unappealing to many voters.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Mayer |first1=Jane |title=Remembering Walter Mondale |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/postscript/remembering-walter-mondale |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |access-date=April 20, 2021 |date=April 19, 2021 |archive-date=April 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420012310/https://www.newyorker.com/news/postscript/remembering-walter-mondale |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Candidates Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro campaigning at Ft. Lauderdale, 4-27-84..jpg|thumb|left|Mondale and Ferraro campaigning in 1984]]
Mondale ran a [[modern liberalism in the United States|liberal]] campaign, supporting a [[Nuclear Freeze campaign|nuclear freeze]] and the [[Equal Rights Amendment]] (ERA). He spoke against [[Reaganomics|Reagan's economic policies]] and in support of reducing federal [[budget deficit]]s. However, the incumbent was popular, and Mondale's campaign was widely considered ineffective. Mondale was also perceived as supporting the poor at the expense of the middle class. In the first televised debate he performed unexpectedly well, which led many to question Reagan's age and capacity to endure the grueling demands of the presidency (Reagan was the oldest person to serve as president—73 at the time—while Mondale was 56). In the next debate on October 21, 1984, Reagan deflected the issue by quipping, "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience."<ref name="newshourdod">{{cite interview |last=Mondale |first=Walter |title=1984: There You Go Again... Again / Debating Our Destiny Transcript |access-date=February 29, 2012 |subject-link=Walter Mondale |interviewer=Lehrer, Jim |work=PBS Newshour |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001212070100/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/debatingourdestiny/dod/1984-broadcast.html |archive-date=December 12, 2000 |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/debatingourdestiny/dod/1984-broadcast.html}}</ref>

Mondale was defeated in a landslide, receiving 37,577,352 votes (40.6% of the popular vote), and winning only the [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]] and his home state of Minnesota (even there his margin of victory was fewer than 3,800 votes),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://h0040055bf148.ne.mediaone.net/~dave/POL/PE1984/pedata1984MN.html |title=1984 Presidential Election Data—Minnesota |access-date=April 5, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010711205902/http://h0040055bf148.ne.mediaone.net/~dave/POL/PE1984/pedata1984MN.html |archive-date=July 11, 2001}}</ref> securing only 13 electoral votes to Reagan's 525. The result was the worst electoral college defeat for any Democratic Party candidate in history, and the worst for any major-party candidate since [[Alf Landon]]'s loss to [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] in [[1936 United States presidential election|1936]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Most Lopsided Presidential Elections in U.S. History: How a Landslide is Measured |last=Murse |first=Tom |date=January 28, 2019 |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/landslide-presidential-elections-by-electoral-votes-3367489 |publisher=ThoughtCo |access-date=March 9, 2019 |archive-date=October 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181015095624/https://www.thoughtco.com/landslide-presidential-elections-by-electoral-votes-3367489 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Private citizen and ambassador===
[[File:Waltermondaleasdiplomat (3x4).jpg|upright|thumb|Official portrait as Ambassador, 1993]]
Mondale returned to private law practice with [[Dorsey & Whitney]] in Minneapolis in 1987. From 1986 to 1993, he chaired the [[National Democratic Institute for International Affairs]]. During Bill Clinton's presidency, he was United States Ambassador to Japan from 1993 to 1996, chaired a bipartisan group to study [[Campaign finance reform in the United States|campaign finance reform]], and was Clinton's [[Diplomatic rank|special envoy]] to Indonesia in 1998.<ref name="nytobit">{{cite web |last=Weisman |first=Steven R. |title=Walter Mondale, Ex-Vice President and Champion of Liberal Politics, Dies at 93 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/19/us/politics/walter-mondale-dead.html |url-status=live |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 20, 2021 |access-date=April 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420005803/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/19/us/politics/walter-mondale-dead.html |archive-date=April 20, 2021}}</ref>

Until his appointment as Ambassador to Japan, Mondale was a Distinguished University Fellow in Law and Public Affairs at the [[Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs]] at the University of Minnesota. In 1990, he established the Mondale Policy Forum at the Humphrey Institute. The forum has brought together leading scholars and policymakers for annual conferences on domestic and international issues.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Humphrey School Mourns Death of Former Vice President Walter Mondale – Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs |url=https://www.hhh.umn.edu/news/humphrey-school-mourns-death-former-vice-president-walter-mondale |access-date=April 20, 2021 |website=University of Minnesota |archive-date=April 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420023136/https://www.hhh.umn.edu/news/humphrey-school-mourns-death-former-vice-president-walter-mondale |url-status=live}}</ref>

Mondale spoke before the U.S. Senate on September 4, 2002, delivering a lecture on his service, with commentary on the transformation of the office of the vice president during the Carter administration, the Senate [[cloture]] rule for ending debate, and his view of the future of the Senate. The lecture was a part of a continuing Senate "Leaders Lecture Series" that ran from 1998 to 2002.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/Leaders_Lecture_Series_Mondale.htm |title=Address by Vice President Walter Mondale, September 4, 2002 |website=United States Senate |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926115321/https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/Leaders_Lecture_Series_Mondale.htm |archive-date=September 26, 2018}}<br/>{{cite web |url=https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/f_two_sections_with_teasers/leader_lecture_series.htm |title=Leader's Lecture Series 1998-2002 |website=United States Senate |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180924181734/https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/f_two_sections_with_teasers/leader_lecture_series.htm |archive-date=September 24, 2018}}</ref>

===2002 U.S. Senate election and beyond===
{{Main|2002 United States Senate elections|2002 United States Senate election in Minnesota}}
In 2002, Democratic Senator Paul Wellstone from Minnesota, who was running for reelection, died in a [[plane crash]] 11 days before the November 5 election. Mondale replaced Wellstone on the ballot at the urging of Wellstone's relatives. The Senate seat was the one Mondale had held before resigning to become vice president in 1977.<!--trivia, needs no citation-->

[[File:2015WalterMondaleJoeBiden.jpg|thumb|left|Mondale with Joe Biden in 2015]]
During his debate with the Republican nominee, former [[St. Paul, Minnesota|St. Paul]] Mayor [[Norm Coleman]], Mondale emphasized his experience, while painting Coleman as right-wing partisan in-line with then-president Bush.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mondale, Coleman spar in Senate debate |url=http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/11/04/elec02.mn.s.debate/index.html |publisher=CNN |access-date=April 20, 2021 |date=November 4, 2002 |archive-date=February 23, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040223074936/http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/11/04/elec02.mn.s.debate/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Mondale unexpectedly lost the election, receiving 1,067,246 votes (47.34%) to Coleman's 1,116,697 (49.53%). Upon conceding defeat, Mondale said, "At the end of what will be my last campaign, I want to say to Minnesota, you always treated me well, you always listened to me."<ref>{{cite news |title=Mondale Concedes to Coleman |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/mondale-concedes-to-coleman |publisher=[[Fox News]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=March 15, 2021 |archive-date=December 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201209035500/https://www.foxnews.com/story/mondale-concedes-to-coleman |url-status=live}}</ref> Mondale's loss in this election made him the first major party candidate to lose an election in every state. 

In 2004, Mondale became co-chairman of the [[Constitution Project]]'s bipartisan Right to Counsel Committee.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.constitutionproject.org/righttocounsel/article.cfm?messageID=73&categoryId=6 |title=National Committee on the Right to Counsel To Examine System of Legal Representation For People Who Cannot Afford It |date=June 22, 2004 |website=Constitution Project |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814000144/http://www.constitutionproject.org/righttocounsel/article.cfm?messageID=73&categoryId=6 |archive-date=August 14, 2007}}</ref> He endorsed Senator [[Hillary Clinton]] for president in [[Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign, 2008|2008]].<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/release/view/?id=4039 |title=Former Vice President Walter F. Mondale Endorses Clinton |date=November 4, 2007 |publisher=Friends of Hillary |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081127223358/http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/release/view/?id=4039 |archive-date=November 27, 2008}}</ref> On June 3, 2008, following the final primary contests, Mondale endorsed Senator [[Barack Obama]], who had clinched the nomination the previous evening, and won the presidency.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mondale says he's backing Obama |url=https://www.twincities.com/2008/06/03/mondale-says-hes-backing-obama/ |website=[[St. Paul Pioneer Press]] |access-date=April 20, 2021 |date=June 3, 2008 |archive-date=September 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190919033003/https://www.twincities.com/2008/06/03/mondale-says-hes-backing-obama/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Following the [[2004 United States presidential election|presidential election of 2004]] and the midterm elections of 2006, Mondale is seen in the documentary ''[[Al Franken: God Spoke]]'' talking with [[Al Franken]] about the possibility of the latter running against Coleman for U.S. Senate in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0799916 |title=Al Franken: God Spoke |publisher=IMDb}}</ref> In the film, Mondale encourages Franken to run, but cautions him, saying that Coleman's allies and the Republican Party would look for anything they could use against him. Franken ultimately ran and won the [[United States Senate election in Minnesota, 2008|2008 Senate election]] by 312 votes, with Coleman contesting the election results until June 30, 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/senate/42221767.html |title=Senate recount trial: Judges' ruling is boon to Franken |work=Star Tribune |access-date=April 1, 2009 |archive-date=April 3, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090403062853/http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/senate/42221767.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Mondale and Senator [[Amy Klobuchar]] stood with Franken in the [[United States Senate chamber]] when Franken was sworn in on July 7, 2009.<ref>{{cite web |last=Kim |first=Seung Min |title=Democrat Franken sworn in as Minnesota senator |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=8024266&page=1 |date=July 7, 2009 |publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |access-date=May 6, 2020 |archive-date=August 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814182617/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=8024266&page=1 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Mondale then stood again with Senator Klobuchar when [[Tina Smith]] was sworn in on January 3, 2018. He endorsed Klobuchar for president in February 2019.<ref>{{cite web |last=Salisbury |first=Bill |date=February 6, 2019 |title=Mondale backs a Klobuchar bid: Former VP likes senator's chances in presidential race |url=https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/government-and-politics/4567736-mondale-backs-klobuchar-bid-former-vp-likes-senators-chances |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207074104/https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/government-and-politics/4567736-mondale-backs-klobuchar-bid-former-vp-likes-senators-chances |archive-date=February 7, 2019 |access-date=April 20, 2021 |website=[[Duluth News Tribune]]}}</ref>