James Earl Carter
Election Results:
The election of 1967 for United States President was Jimmy Carter against Gerald Ford. Jimmy Carter had won this election by 57 electoral votes. Jimmy was the first president elected from the Deep South since Zachary Taylor in 1848. This election followed the resignation of President Richard Nixon in the wake of the Watergate scandal. Ford had a slow economy and paid a political price for his pardon of Nixon. In wake of the Watergate scandal, Carter realized that his status as a Washington outsider, political centrist, and moderate reformer could give him and advantage over his rivals. He also took advantage for the record number of state primaries and caucuses in 1976 to eliminate his better-known rivals one-by-one.
As Carter closed in on the nominations, an "ABC" (Anybody But Carter) movement started among Northern and Western liberal Democrats who worried that Carter's southern upbringing would make him too conservative for the Democratic Party. Idaho Senator Frank Church and California Governor Jerry Brown were the leaders of "ABC". They both announced their candidacies for the Democratic nomination and defeated Carter in several late primaries.But, it was to late when they started the campaigns so he still won.
An advantge Ford held over Carters was that he was president which ment he had the privlege to preside over events dealing with the US Bicentennial. This often resulted in favorable publicity for Ford. He held the Fourth of July firework presentation in Washington D.C. The president and First Lady served as hosts at a White House state dinner for Elizabeth II and Prince Philip of the United Kingdom. These both were televised on PBS. This was the "Rose Garden" strategy that Ford tried to win the election. But instead of appearing as a typical politician, Ford presented himself as a "tested leader" who was busily fulflling the role of national leader and Chief Executive. Not until October did Ford leave the White House to campaign actively across the nation.
At the end they were both tied for elections until November 2 when it took most of the night and the following morning to determine Jimmy had won Mississippi.
Results! Jimmy Carter-Blue, Gerald Ford-Red
Ford and Carter in a debate
The second election he had to face Ronald Reagan and was easily defeated. He lost because of high inflation and rising interest rates, along with his failure to deliver on campaign promises were responsible for his defeat. Carter's Last major official action was to secure the release of the U.S. hostages in Iran and they were released on Ronald Reagan's inauguration day. He may have also lost because of the "Billygate". Where his brother became involved with the Libyans.
Scandals:
In addition to his domestic and foreign policy problems, and despite Jimmy Carter's personal sincerity, the Carter White House had its share of scandals. Charged with banking irregularities, Carter's Budget Director, Bert Lance, was forced to resign in 1977; a medical-policy adviser left over a minor drug scandal; and United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Andrew Young, resigned in 1979 after irregularities were alleged in his dealings with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
Personal thoughts:
Jimmy Carter sounded like a hard worker when it came to campaigns. But he also didn't have a very good person to run up against. Ford kind of lost it for himself I think. And with the second election Jimmy just messed up a lot i guess.
Comments
Well done Teresa!