Stars of elections past

It's been a long, grueling election season, not only for the candidates, but also for the public. Let's take a quick break from the McCain/Palin/Obama/Biden news machine, then, and check in on some famous figures from elections past. You might be surprised to learn that these five figures are still involved in the political world (some more directly than others).

Dan Quayle

The former vice president, whose name became synonomous with political gaffes in the 1990s (sorry, Mr. Vice President, "potato" is not spelled with an "e"), left politics after a failed bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000.

But he remains in the news, smack dab in the middle of one of the biggest stories ever: the global financial crisis.

Quayle currently is a top executive at the investment firm Cerberus, where he is Chairman of Cerberus Global Investments, responsible for a multi-billion dollar portfolio. Current financial crisis aside, we're tempted to say that these days, Quayle is the one laughing (all the way to the bank) -- he has amassed a track record of success at the firm, leveraging his network of contacts to spearhead deals around the world.

Similar to Republican vice presidential contender Sarah Palin, Quayle was a relative unknown when George H.W. Bush tapped him as his running mate in 1988. Quayle did recently offer Palin some advice:

"I basically said, 'Look, just be yourself. You were selected by John McCain because of who you are and what you have done, and don't let them take anything away from you. Just go out and be yourself.'"

Katherine Harris

America's most famous secretary of state (the state of Florida, that is), Harris presided over the Florida recount in the 2000 election.

She is equally famous, of course, for her makeup -- forever the stuff of legend thanks to "Saturday Night Live" parodies and countless jokes from late-night comedians.

Harris actually stayed in elected office in the years following the recount, serving in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007. She ran for the Senate in 2006, losing to Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson.

Katherine Harris in 2007 (AP)

The recent HBO movie "Recount" propelled Harris back onto America's TV screens and into the news. Upset at her portrayal in the movie (by Laura Dern), Harris appeared on Fox News this summer to dispute the film's retelling of events:

"I'm quite accustomed to being mocked in terms of my appearance, but when the truth is so flagrantly disregarded... we had to respond... the last thing I like is the spotlight."

Ross Perot

Perot, on the other hand, seemed to bask in every second of the spotlight he received during his run for president in 1992. The fast-talking Texas billionaire not only won 19 percent of the vote that year -- one of the strongest showings ever for a third-party candidate -- he spiced up the campaign with some memorable debate moments and supplied Dana Carvey with some of his best impersonation material.

Until Sen. Barack Obama's 30-minute multi-million dollar infomercial aired Wednesday night, the last presidential candidate to buy that kind of air time was Perot, who flooded the airwaves in 1992.

Perot didn't fare as well in his 1996 bid for the presidency, and he largely faded from the political scene afterward.

Ross Perot appears on CNN's 'Larry King Live' in 1996 (AP)

He made a return of sorts this year, though, launching a website called Perot Charts, devoted to "charting government fiscal irresponsibility" with a myriad of charts, issue trackers and a blog. The site includes a welcome video, "The facts from Ross Perot":

"We live in the greatest country in the history of man. we've been so successful for so long that we now take our success for granted. Today our great country is at a critical turning point... We are leaving our children and grandchildren with a burden they can't possibly manage."

Bob Dole
Former Senator Bob Dole's official career in politics ended in 1996, with his loss to Bill Clinton in the presidential race. But he remains heavily involved in politics, through his Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas, as well as frequent op-eds and speaking appearances.

He also continues to campaign for his wife, Elizabeth, who is seeking reelection as a senator from North Carolina.

Dole caused a stir this February, before McCain had the Republican nomination wrapped up, with a letter to Rush Limbaugh. The conservative commentator was relentlessly bashing McCain on his radio show and Dole urged him to let up, writing "whoever wins the Republican nomination will need your enthusiastic support."

Steven Colbert, for his part, seized on the moment and found it quite easy to score Bob Dole's support:

Geraldine Ferraro
Finally, before there was Sarah Palin, there was Geraldine Ferraro, the first female candidate for vice president in U.S. history, running on Walter Mondale's ticket in 1984. Ronald Reagan won reelection handily that year, and Ferraro's term in Congress expired in January 1985. She made unsuccessful runs for the Senate in 1992 and 1998.

But Ferraro has remained active in politics, serving as an ambassador to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights during the Clinton administration.

As an adviser to Sen. Hillary Clinton, Ferraro made waves this election season with her comments suggesting Obama was getting preferential treatment because of his race. Ferraro stood by her remarks, but eventually resigned from the Clinton campaign.

A much more interesting moment came just ahead of the Palin-Biden debate, when Ferraro appeared on the Today show alongside former Pres. George H.W. Bush. The two, who are now close friends, reminisced about their historic face-off in the 1984 vice presidential debate, and analyzed the issues facing Palin.