Although the elephant and the donkey are unmistakable images in American politics, past elections featured other symbols. When campaigning, Grover Cleveland’s 1888 running mate, the aging and ailing Allen Thurman (1813–1895), would mop his brow with a red bandana. Democrats took this symbol to heart in song. Republicans turned this symbol to their advantage. Retaliating with tunes that depicted Thurman’s bandana as a sweat rag, they insisted that the only proper American symbol to wave was the flag.