Eric Black, in the Star Tribune (March 11, 2004):

Twenty years ago this summer, Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale chose Rep. Geraldine Ferraro of New York as his running mate, which made her the first woman ever on a major party ticket.

At a reunion Wednesday morning, Mondale and Ferraro reminisced about their history-making 1984 partnership, then joined several analysts of gender politics in pondering why no women have been on a major presidential ticket since Ferraro broke the barrier.

Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster who got her first big break on the 1984 campaign, showed data suggesting that gender stereotypes still play a significant role in voters' choices. For example, only 46 percent of Americans described themselves as"very comfortable" with the idea of a woman president.

Although a couple of women have been mentioned as possible running mates for this year's presumptive Democratic nominee, Sen. John Kerry, the most prominently mentioned names are men. If Kerry picks a man and President Bush sticks with Vice President Dick Cheney, as he has said he will, that will make 20 males who have run for president or vice president on the major party tickets since Ferraro's breakthrough nomination.