General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Bill Maher on Ronald Reagan last night - must see TV [View all]NewJeffCT
(56,828 posts)if the hostage rescue hadn't been a disaster (which many took as a symbol of the inept Carter administration), it would have been close.
However, while Carter had a lot of good ideas, he wasn't an inspiring leader and Teddy Kennedy running to his left hurt Carter with the Democratic base. As I said above, my father always voted Democratic prior to 1980, but voted Anderson in 1980 because he didn't trust Reagan and didn't like Carter and his religiousness. If Anderson wasn't there, he probably would not have voted out of frustration. Kennedy running in 1980 would have been the equivalent of Bernie Sanders or Sheldon Whitehouse (northeastern liberal) mounting a serious primary challenge to Obama in 2012. It would have highlighted the differences between Obama and a "true" liberal and possibly turned off the base that turned out so well in 2008 and 2012.