Presidency of Jimmy Carter: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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{{Main|Jimmy Carter#1980 presidential campaign|1980 United States presidential election|Presidential transition of Ronald Reagan}}

{{Further|1980 United States elections|1980 Democratic Party presidential primaries|1980 Democratic National Convention}}

[[File:Gallup Poll-Approval Rating-Jimmy Carter.png|thumb|upright=1.4|Graph of Carter's approval ratings in [[Gallup (company)|Gallup]] polls during his presidency]]

[[File:ElectoralCollege1980.svg|thumb|Republican [[Ronald Reagan]] defeated Carter in the 1980 presidential election]]▼

[[File:President Jimmy Carter welcomes President-elect Ronal Reagan and Nancy Reagan to the White House for a tour.jpg|thumb|Outgoing President Jimmy Carter and President-elect [[Ronald Reagan]] with his wife [[Nancy Reagan|Nancy]] in the [[Oval Office]] on November 20, 1980]]▼

In April 1978, polling showed that Carter's approval rating had declined precipitously, and a Gallup survey found Carter trailing Ted Kennedy for the 1980 Democratic nomination.<ref>Kaufman and Kaufman, 2006, p. 101</ref> By mid-1979, Carter faced an energy crisis, rampant inflation, slow economic growth, and the widespread perception that his administration was incompetent.<ref>Kaufman and Kaufman, 2006, p. 176</ref> In November 1979, Kennedy announced that he would challenge Carter in the [[1980 Democratic Party presidential primaries|1980 Democratic primaries]].<ref>Kaufman and Kaufman, 2006, p. 184</ref> Carter's polling numbers shot up following the start of the Iran hostage crisis,<ref>Kaufman and Kaufman, 2006, pp. 194–195</ref> and his response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan further boosted his prospects in the Democratic primaries.<ref name="kaufman197"/> Carter dominated the early primaries, allowing him to amass an early delegate lead. Carter's polling numbers tumbled in March, and Kennedy won the New York and Connecticut primaries.<ref>Kaufman and Kaufman, 2006, pp. 208–210</ref> Though Carter developed a wide delegate lead, Kennedy stayed in the race after triumphing in Pennsylvania and Michigan.<ref>Kaufman and Kaufman, 2006, pp. 210–211</ref> By the day of the final primaries, Carter had registered the lowest approval ratings in the history of presidential polling, and Kennedy won just enough delegates to prevent Carter from clinching the nomination.<ref>Kaufman and Kaufman, 2006, pp. 217–220</ref>

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The [[1980 Republican Party presidential primaries|1980 Republican presidential primaries]] quickly developed into a two-man contest between former Governor Ronald Reagan of California and former Congressman [[George H. W. Bush]] of Texas. Bush, who referred to Reagan's tax cut proposal as "voodoo economics", won the Iowa Caucus but faded later in the race. Reagan won the presidential nomination on the first ballot of the [[1980 Republican National Convention]] and named Bush as his running mate.<ref>Patterson, pp. 128–129</ref> Meanwhile, Republican Congressman [[John B. Anderson]], who had previously sought the Republican presidential nomination, launched an independent campaign for president.<ref>Zelizer, p. 108</ref> Polls taken in September, after the conclusion of the party conventions, showed a tied race between Reagan and Carter.<ref>Zelizer, p. 115</ref> The Carter campaign felt confident that the country would reject the conservative viewpoints espoused by Reagan, and there were hopeful signs with regards to the economy and the Iranian hostage crisis.<ref>Zelizer, pp. 115–116</ref> Seeking to unite Democrats behind his re-election campaign, Carter decided to focus on attacking Reagan's supposed ideological extremism rather than on his own policies.<ref>Kaufman and Kaufman, 2006, pp. 235–237</ref>

▲[[File:ElectoralCollege1980.svg|thumb|Republican [[Ronald Reagan]] defeated Carter in the 1980 presidential election]]

▲[[File:President Jimmy Carter welcomes President-elect Ronal Reagan and Nancy Reagan to the White House for a tour.jpg|thumb|Outgoing President Jimmy Carter and President-elect [[Ronald Reagan]] with his wife [[Nancy Reagan|Nancy]] in the [[Oval Office]] on November 20, 1980]]

A key strength for Reagan was his appeal to the rising conservative movement, as epitomized by activists like [[Paul Weyrich]], [[Richard Viguerie]], and [[Phyllis Schlafly]]. Though most conservative leaders espoused cutting taxes and budget deficits, many conservatives focused more closely on social issues like [[Abortion in the United States|abortion]] and homosexuality.<ref>Patterson, pp. 130–134</ref> Developments of the 1970s, including the Supreme Court case of ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' and the withdrawal of [[Bob Jones University]]'s tax-exempt status, convinced many evangelical Protestants to become engaged in politics for the first time. Evangelical Protestants became an increasingly important voting bloc, and they enthusiastically supported Reagan in the 1980 campaign.<ref>Patterson, pp. 135–141, 150</ref> Reagan also won the backing of so-called "[[Reagan Democrat]]s", who tended to be Northern, white, working-class voters who supported liberal economic programs but disliked policies such as affirmative action.<ref>Patterson, p. 131</ref> Though he advocated socially conservative view points, Reagan focused much of his campaign on attacks against Carter's foreign policy, including the SALT II treaty, the Torrijos–Carter Treaties, and the revocation of the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty.<ref>Patterson, pp. 145–146</ref> Reagan called for increased defense spending, tax cuts, domestic spending cuts, and the dismantling of the Department of Education and the Department of Energy.<ref>Patterson, p. 147</ref>