Annual Presidential Nomination
One of the evening's activities includes the playful nomination of a presidential candidate by the Club's leadership. The candidate is then required to make a speech. Several such candidates went on to hold the actual presidency after being nominated, including Richard Nixon in 1965 (elected in 1968), Ronald Reagan in 1974 (elected in 1980), and George W. Bush in 1998 (elected in 2000). In 1969, they nominated Harold Stassen. In 2004, the Club nominated the former president of the Motion Picture Association of America, Jack Valenti. Its 2000 nomination was Australian-born James Wolfensohn, constitutionally ineligible for election to the U.S. presidency. In 2001, the presidential nomination went to John McCain.
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