This offbeat slice of American history places the story of our
great republic beneath an unexpected lens: that of fringe
candidates for president of the United States. Mark Stein explores
how their quest for our nation's highest office helped to amplify
voices otherwise quashed during their day. His careening tour
through elections past includes the efforts of true pioneers in the
quest for social equality in our country: the first woman to run
for president, Victoria Woodhull in 1872; the first African
American to run for president, George E. Taylor in 1904; and the
first openly gay cross-dressing candidate for president, Joan Jett
Blakk in 1992. But The Presidential Fringe also takes a look at
those who would jest their way into the Oval Office, from comedians
such as Will Rogers and Gracie Allen to Pat Paulsen and Stephen
Colbert. Along the way, Stein shows how even seemingly zany
candidates, such as "Live Forever" Jones, Vegetarian Party
candidate John Maxwell, Flying Saucer Party candidate Gabriel
Green, or, most recently, Vermin Supreme, provide extraordinary
insights of clarity into who we were when they ran for president
and how we became who we are today. Ultimately, Stein's examination
reveals that it was often precisely these fringe candidates who
planted the seeds from which mainstream candidates later harvested
genuine, positive change. Written in Stein's direct and witty
style, The Presidential Fringe surveys and portrays an American
landscape rife with the unlikely, unassuming, unexpected, and (in a
few cases) unbalanced presidential hopefuls who, in their own way,
have contributed to this nation's founding quest to form a more
perfect Union.