Was it a surprise when Jimmy Carter beat Ford?

I was young but IIRC, no. People were pissed that Ford pardoned Nixon. He was tainted by Watergate and I remember media made fun of him like they did Dan Quale. He was bumbling.

Ford was tainted....

Btw I like how my sentences came out exactly the same length!! So neat looking.

OP likes blue

It could have gone either way. Ford would have won with a few thousand more votes in Ohio and Hawaii. Carter carried all the Southern states but one, which gave him the win. If Carter hadn’t been a Southerner, Ford probably would have won.

No surprise at all, but most Carter voters regretted their decision.

Do you mean they would have preferred voting for Ford or for another democratic candidate r6?

Back in 2012 and 2016 I aaa watching some of the 1980 election coverage, and it was John Chancellor (one of my favorites, unfairly forgotten) and Tom Brokaw projecting Reagan’s win. And they were saying how back in 1976 they were there until 2:30/3am counting the results but this one in contrast ended really early.

So yeah I would say it was close. Plus like someone said above if Carter hadn’t been Southern (not to mention Baptist) Ford would have won easily. No Dem could get that demo in their pocket any more.

I remember Ford blowing a debate against Carter really badly when he said Poland wasn't under Soviet dominance.

That statement made me think he was going senile.

If he had any chance to win despite the Nixon stigma, his last gasp went with that debate performance.

From early spring through the summer, Carter held a substantial lead over Ford, but the race grew tighter and tighter after Labor Day. The Poland gaffe during the debate seemed to slow/halt Ford’s momentum , and Carter won, bu5 not by a lot.

Electoral vote was 297-240, but Carter had only 50.1% to Ford’s 48%.

No, it wasn't. Ford wasn't expected to win, it was a closer than most people thought it would be.

Ford was a very underwhelming candidate. And post-watergate the feeling in America was very non-trusting towards the Republican Party.

Similar to now--though not as severe--there were still Republicans in power who were defending Nixon to the absolute end, until the tapes were played for everyone and nobody could deny it. There wasn't a crazy faction of deep state believers, and/or non-reality/culture of lies people out there like there is today. Nobody thought Nixon was framed or such. And the criminality of watergate really tainted the Republicans for awhile.

It was also a time in the mid to late 1970's where america was honestly embracing progressive ideas. The women's movement, civil-rights, lgbt rights, etc. were fully in place and had voice and community. There was a focus on the environment. The feeling was the kind of government in washington that had created a watergate had to change. It had to go a completely different direction.

The democrats with Jimmy Carter leading the way as the presidential candidate against Ford seemed like an excellent choice to make that change. Carter being basically a simple peanut farmer from Georgia who grew up extremely poor, and had devoted his life to his work, and to helping others. He didn't seem like typical government. He wasn't. Ultimately, this truth didn't serve him as President, but history has been generous in realizing what a good man he was and is. He is probably the least stained former President in our history. I am glad that ultimately Carter is thought of with great respect and admiration.

I was an adult in 1978 and remember the election well. As a candidate, Jimmy Carter had star quality and charisma. With that big toothy smile and Kennedyesque hairdo, the devout Baptist peanut farmer from Georgia seemed like a breath of fresh air, someone who would shake up Washington and bring back morality to government after the trauma of Watergate. In other words, Carter appealed to the left the way Trump appealed to the right in 2016.

Ford, on the other hand, was widely disliked, especially among young adults. (Remember the Chevy Chase pratfalls on SNL?) First Lady Betty Ford, was vastly more popular and well-liked than he was. He seemed ordinary at best, inept and bumbling at worst, and the voting public quickly turned on him. He got blamed (unfairly, I think) for a lot of what went wrong in the 70s economy, such as gas shortages, inflation, a lackluster stock market and a weak job market. He was widely ridiculed for installing solar panels on the roof of the White House (which Reagan later had removed) and for telling people to conserve energy. Voters saw him as a weak, sanctimonious micromanager who couldn't get the hostages home from Iran.

We know now that the Reagan administration secretly made a deal with the Iran government to postpone releasing the hostages until Ronnie was sworn in, and that's exactly what happened. The Ayatollah hated Carter because he helped the deposed, cancer-ridden Shah to come the U.S. for cancer treatment, so they were happy to play along. Thus, despite hundreds of days of of grueling negotiations and hundreds of sleepless nights on Carter's part, Reagan was the one who got the credit. This was the final nail in the coffin for Carter's reputation. Fortunately history - and Carter's own long years of humanitarian service - have softened the criticism and burnished his image. He never regained that Kennedy charisma, but now he is seen more as a wise, kindly elder statesman.

Well it was a Tuesday, and I sez to Mabel, I sez, "Have you seen that Taxi Driver movie? That little girl from the television plays a whore. Can ya 'magine? They say that's because of Watergate which I don't really understand. Was she on a soap opera that was cancelled to show the hearings?"

Anyway, this was at the Farmer's Market. Seriously, they had the best junk food at that Farmer's Market. I bought one of those big ass lollipops for my niece. She has diabetes now, but don't blame me. She was skinny then.

So Mabel sez, "Who are you voting for?" You know, all casual like. And I'm thinking, "Oh, no, Miss Missy, we are not going to re-hash that Nixon nonsense." But you know what? Mabel voted for Carter. It was the teeth. If you ever saw her husband before the dentures, you'd know. Voted with her panties, that one.

Never understood it. Kennedy had big teeth, didn't he? Always Mr. Smiley? But she voted for Nixon, every time.

You know who looks like a handsome Nixon? I know, but when I tell you, it'll make sense. Liv Shriver. From that cable show where everybody's Irish and crazy? No, the one without the gay kid. Such a somber show.

He's not related to the Kennedy's. is he? Oh, wait. Oh, wait, his name is Schreiber. And it's Liev.

I wonder how you say that? Lie-ev? Lee-ev?

[quote]I was an adult in 1978 and remember the election well.

The election was in 1976, Rose. And the rest of your post totally blurs the Ford and Carter presidencies. You remember nothing.

Ford's program, WIN, which stands for Whip Inflation Now, was an example of his failure of POTUS. There was even a very corny, old-fashioned song to go along with the concept. Betty Ford very proudly wore last year's coat to an event and told the paps she could thus wear her WIN button.

Then there was the "black negligee" incident.

r16 politics is ridiculous

Carter made a HUGE mistake giving up on Iran and letting the country be taken over by religious nutcases. We feel the repercussions of that fatal mistake still today. He was ultimately a terrible president

He was a fake humanitarian, him kissing up to Ceausescu clearly showed this. I am not surprised no living president likes him. He said he didn't believe the Russians interfered with the 2016 election BTW. He's an idiot!

Did any Democrats put up a good fight during the primaries? Jerry Brown?

It was a shock to me

Any Democrat was going to win in 1976. I'm sure Teddy Kennedy regretted he didn't run.

Ford was catching up by Election Day. That's why it was so close. If the election had been held a week later, he might have won.

That debate where he didn't recognize communism re: Poland was the final nail.

[quote]I'm sure Teddy Kennedy regretted he didn't run.

I was shitfaced and forgot to file. I tried 4 years later but everyone kept bringing up my driving skills.

I was an adult in 1974 and remember the election well. Carter held up a newspaper headline saying "Ford Wins". When Carter posed on the military tank with the helmet on that almost sank his campaign, but then Ford was on TV and couldn't spell "potato" and the election turned around.

I too was an adult back in 1976 (58–elder gay indeed) and voted for Carter. He was a different likd of candidate. He dressed casually when meeting with voters and talked casually—folksy. I was not surprised he won and when he lost. But, he did concede way too early.

Except for the pardons, Ford did a good enough job of stepping into a crisis and serving as a place holder for the balance of Nixon's vacated term. Plus, he had a GREAT family. His wife was terrific (and a former Martha Graham dancer, so a Republican First Lady who was not a Bible thumper and not cocksucking Hollywood trash.) Plus, Gerald Ford had smoking hot sons. They were pleasant. But Gerald kept falling down and he did embody the persona of a dynamic leader. But he was an experienced and genial place holder.

The pardons where not illogical. They ended a matter that had been festering and was toxic. It set a terrible political precedent and adversely colored what was to come in the long term. But in the short term, there was an argument to be made for them.

Carter had a great lead over Ford from the convention forward, but managed to saying things on the campaign trail that allowed Ford to be even in the polls on election day. Strange Electoral College map where Texas went Democratic and California, New Jersey and Connecticut went Republican. Surprised Ohio went for Carter as Ford was from nearby Michigan. This was the last national election where the South and Texas went Democratic. The South would flip red with Reagan and basically stayed that way from then on. The exception was Clinton, who was able to split the South with Ross Perot making the race three ways.

Ford also had to contend with a protracted re-nomination battle against Reagan, that I believe wasn't settled until the convention in August. Given all that was stacked against him, the real surprise was that it was as close as it was.

Sorry about messing up on the date. It was a typo. Of course I meant 1976. Also, I was pretty wasted when I typed that and messed up some of the syntax. But hey, at least I gave you guys some good snark material. You're welcome.