1980: THE REAGAN ERA BEGINS

	VS
R.Reagan 50.7 %		J.Carter

A poor economy, the Iran hostage crisis, the botched rescue of those hostages and the gasoline crisis: All of these problems haunted President Jimmy Carter every step of the way as he fought for re-election. He won the nomination in a bitter battle against Sen. Edward Kennedy and began what was at first a promising campaign against a popular movie star and the former governor of California, Ronald Reagan, and his running mate, George Bush. Carter actually held the lead, based on his successful ability to raise doubts about Reagan's fitness to be President. Carter cited as examples: Reagan's doubts on the theory of evolution, his statement that the Vietnam War was a noble cause and his proposal that Social Security be made voluntary.

Carter quickly lost ground after the last of a series of televised debates, when Reagan ended the debate by asking Americans whether they felt better off economically and if they felt that America was safer. Reagan said viewers would decide who to vote for based upon their answer. The answer, apparently, was no, because Reagan won with 489 of the electoral votes while Carter took only 49. He became the first sitting president to lose re-election and Reagan, 69, became the oldest person to be elected president.

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