Jimmy Carter's insistence on principles over politics may have doomed him to a one-term presidency in the United States, but it also made him one of the best people to ever serve in the Oval Office. He proved that he is one of the people who
On November 4, 1980, Carter Second incumbent Democratic Party in history Evicted from the White House at the polls and ensured Electoral College votes: 49, Ronald Reagan: 489. and lost in the popularity vote nearly 10% increase. Conservatives called their idol's landslide victory ” “Reagan Revolution” They argued that it represented a definitive rejection of President Carter and the status quo.
Republicans continue to insist that America wanted change. But in the weeks leading up to the election, the country's new rightward course seemed far from set. Despite a weak economy and soaring inflation in the wake of the 1979 Iranian revolution, the result was too close to call in the days before the vote. Carter and Reagan almost Equal in opinion polls.
For all his shortcomings, the president had two major advantages. One was the incumbent, and the other was a moderate who could legitimately claim the center as his own.
To many Americans in 1980, Reagan appeared to be a fringe figure on the Republican right and a threat to the social fabric of the country. President Reagan's main challenge as a candidate was to allay those fears—and he wasn't always able to help himself. President Reagan on Labor Day angry southerner It falsely accused the president of launching his campaign in “the city that gave rise to and became the mother of the Ku Klux Klan.” Later, in Steubenville, Ohio, he urged Claremont College students to welcome visiting candidates with signs hanging from oak trees, arguing that trees were the main source of pollution. declare “Please cut me before I kill you again.”
Less than 48 hours before voting began, an internal poll conducted by leading presidential pollster Pat Cadell found the president and his opponent virtually tied. That day, Carter wrote: white house diary“Pat thinks the trend is in our direction, and CBS pollsters apparently agree with that. We're about even with President Reagan.” But within 24 hours, Cadell said, poll showed that Mr. Carter's support declined across the floor, giving Mr. Reagan an 8 to 10 point lead and maintaining this lead through Election Day.
So what caused Mr. Carter to collapse at the last minute?
The key issues in this campaign, and the wild card in the race, are: 52 hostages They have been held in Iran since revolutionary students captured them in November 1979. After a disastrous rescue attempt led to the deaths of eight U.S. military personnel. In the Iranian desert, Carter focused his efforts on securing a negotiated release. As the election approached, Republicans privately feared that a breakthrough with the hostages would all but ensure the president's victory.
Then, on the morning of Nov. 2, there was a moment when Mr. Carter almost pulled a rabbit out of a hat.
Stuart Eisenstat, President Carter's chief of staff for domestic policy, was accompanying the president on a campaign trip through the Midwest. “I woke up from my sleep at 4:21 a.m. in an airport hotel in Chicago. Iran had a different offer,” Eisenstat said. Iran's parliament had just voted to approve the terms. release of hostages – 4 suggestions including: Return of frozen Iranian assets and US promise not to interfere in Iran's internal affairs. Against the advice of many aides who wanted Mr. Carter to stay on the campaign trail, the president rushed back to Washington to plan his response.
“The fate of the hostages and the fate of the 39th president was at stake,” Eisenstat recalled as the president huddled with his team in the White House. “No one could fail to understand the gravity of the president's plight.”
After examination, Mr. Carter and his advisers concluded that the offer was not acceptable in its current form because Iran's terms were too strict. But rather than rejecting it outright, Carter accepted the offer as a basis for further talks and scheduled a live television appearance to explain his response to the public.
“I… drafted a statement saying this was a good and constructive move, but stressed that it would not be influenced by the calendar,” Carter wrote in his diary.. What the president did not mention was that he had clashed with his advisers over the content of his speech before it went on air.
Hamilton Jordan, President Carter's chief strategist and the mastermind behind his 1976 victory, press secretary Jody Powell, media adviser Gerald Ruffhorn, and Eisenstat all believed that President Carter had no control over the election. They felt they had a trump card they could use to make a move — one they felt they just needed to convince President Carter to use it.
Many voters were growing disillusioned with the president's handling of the hostage crisis, but that frustration pales in comparison to the hostility Americans felt toward the Iranian regime, which has held U.S. civilians captive for more than a year. It was not enough. Mr. Carter's advisers believed that by playing tough guy, the president could use his televised speeches to turn the situation to his political advantage.
Eisenstadt and others urged, “We must thoroughly crush the Iranians who tried to interfere with our elections.'' According to “This is actually helpful. It can turn lemons into lemonade.” Eisenstat's Memoirs of the Carter PresidencyLafshun further said: [f—k] ourselves,” he insisted.
The plea fell on deaf ears. Carter was determined. He was not prepared to escalate tensions with Iran.
“He was… concerned that our rhetoric was jeopardizing the safety of the hostages, and he prioritized securing the hostages before running for re-election,” Rahshoon recalled. In defiance of his aides, Carter made cautious but rambling statements. 3 minute speech It served no purpose other than to highlight Mr. Carter's apparent incompetence on the issue of hostage crisis at the worst possible time for his campaign. “He didn't have the right political instincts at the right time,” Eisenstat laments.
“It was actually pretty close,” says Carter biographer Julian Zelizer. “After that announcement, Carter's support really starts to plummet.”
The president pursued a principled course of action to his own detriment when the stakes could not have been higher. “He had core beliefs, core principles, values that he thought the country needed,” said Greg Schneiders, a close aide to President Carter. I was willing to do it even if it meant the end of my career.”
Many who knew Mr. Carter look back fondly on his leadership, including some disgruntled advisers. “I wanted to win the election. It would have meant a lot to the country,” Lafshun says. “But what I love about President Carter is that he always… put what was right and what was moral above politics, and he couldn't change that, and in retrospect, he didn't want to change that. Sho.”
In one important respect, Carter was ultimately vindicated by his decision. Thanks in large part to his careful diplomacy, all the hostages were returned home alive minutes after he left the White House. Carter set out to secure their release, and although he lost the election, he achieved higher goals for America.
Andrew Sanders is a television documentary producer and director specializing in U.S. political history. His credits include CNN's “American Dynasties: The Kennedys” and “Race for the White House.”
