The Presidential Election of 1976

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The Presidential Election of 1976

• The Context

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• ISSUES OF THE DAY
• The Watergate Scandal
• The Economy

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The Watergate Scandal
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• In 1972, members of the Nixon administration
  broke into the Democratic National Convention
  headquarters located at the Watergate Hotel in
  Washington, DC to wiretap the office.
• During what was later found out to be their third
  break-in to the office, the men were caught
  red-handed when a security guard noticed a piece
  of tape keeping the door open.

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• A Senate committee was set up to investigate the
  scandal, and the tapes were subpoenaed.
• After the Supreme Court ruling in United States
  v. Nixon, President Nixon gave up the tapes,
  which incriminated him and many other senior
  officials from the Republican Party.
• Four days after the release of the tapes,
  President Nixon became the first US president to
  resign.

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Ramifications

• The Watergate Scandal caused the American people
  to see the corruption that was taking place in
  their own government.
• They were particularly disillusioned with the
  Republican Party, which was visible from the
  results in the Senate and House elections that
  took place only three months later. The Senate
  gained five Democrats, while the House gained
  forty-nine.

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The Economy
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• The 1976 election pitted the fiscally
  conservative Ford against the more liberal
  Carter.
• The candidates economic policies became
  increasingly important as the economys recovery
  from one of the worst post-WWII recessions slowed
  down.
• Ford backed a slow-growth policy to fight
  inflation, while Carter advocated stronger growth
  at the risk of inflation.

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• OVERVIEW
• The Watergate scandal and the state of the
  economy hurt the Republican party and gave Carter
  the advantage of being viewed as a newcomer and a
  reformer.

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1976 Democratic Primary

• Carter, former GA governor, becomes immediate
  frontrunner after Iowa Caucuses
• Held off against late surge by ABC (Anyone but
  Carter) movement
• Convention Tally (Top Three only)
• Jimmy Carter 2278
• Morris "Mo" Udall 329
• Jerry Brown 300

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Republican Primary

• Ascended to Presidency following Watergate
  Controversy
• Frustrated by Democratic Congress began in 1974
• Politically damaged by pardoning of Nixon

• More Conservative
• Attacked Ford for failing to support South
  Vietnam more
• Began subtle political campaigning in the summer
  of 1975 and announced in the Fall

• Gerald Ford
• Incumbent President

Ronald Reagan California Governor
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Republican Primary (cont.)

• New Hampshire
• Massachusetts
• Vermont
• Florida
• Oregon
• Ohio
• New York
• New Jersey

Ford wins 15 States
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Republican Primary (cont.)

• North Carolina
• Texas
• Alabama
• Georgia
• Nevada
• California
• Indiana

Reagan wins 12 States
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Republican Primary Convention

• Regan and Ford arrive early to campaign for
  delegates
• Closest Primary EVER

1187
1070
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The 1976 General Election
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The General Election Campaign

• Ford and the Republican Party took positions on
  important issues in the general election campaign
  that clearly differed from the positions of
  Carter and the Democrats.

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The Issues
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The Economy and Jobs

• The Republican platform emphasized economic
  growth driven by private investment, reduction of
  government spending and cuts in taxes.
• For the Democrats, economic growth could be
  stimulated and inflation controlled by increasing
  the number of jobs. Its platform dedicated the
  Democratic candidates to the right of all adult
  Americans willing, able and seeking work to have
  opportunities for useful jobs, at living wages.
  For Carter, this promise eventually required a
  commitment to a large public service jobs program
  establishing government as an employer of last
  resort, and to wage and price controls, if
  necessary to combat inflation. The Democratic
  platform, describing the present tax structure
  as welfare for the rich, promised to make taxes
  more fair.

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Energy

• Ford argued for minimizing government intrusion
  in the energy industry, and advocated the
  expansion of nuclear power.
• Carter argued for strong regulation of the energy
  industry, and for minimizing dependence on
  nuclear power.

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Social Issues

• Carter staked out positions that were more
  moderate, but still distinct from Fords
  conservative positions.
• Carter favored voluntary busing for
  desegregation, and personally opposed abortion
  and federal funding of abortion.
• Ford favored constitutional amendments banning
  busing and permitted states to govern abortions.

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How the Candidates Were Seen

• JIMMY CARTER
• An honest outsider and reformer - attractive in
  the wake of the Watergate Scandal.
• PRESIDENT FORD
• President Ford, although personally unconnected
  with Watergate, was seen by many as too close to
  the discredited Richard Nixon administration,
  especially after Ford granted Nixon a
  presidential pardon.
• Ford made a dramatic surge in the polls in late
  September and early October, credited to Carters
  "blanket pardon" to Vietnam draft dodgers and
  Playboy magazines controversial interview with
  Carter.
• The presidential debates also greatly affected
  how American voters saw the candidates.

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The Debates

• First time in 16 years that presidential
  candidates engaged in general election debates
  and the first time in which an incumbent
  president participated.
• Also the first time the public observed a debate
  between vice-presidential candidates, Bob Dole
  (R) and Walter Mondale (D).
• Three Debates The first debate was devoted to
  domestic policy, the second to international
  policy and the third was open to any topic.
• The debates broke from 1960 tradition by allowing
  the moderators to ask follow-up questions, and
  allowed candidate rebuttals and closing
  statements.
• Another first The debates were broadcast from
  public places and before an audience instead of
  being conducted in television studios.

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The First Debate

• Topic of Debate Domestic Policy
• Carter talked of "the bureaucratic mess" in
  Washington, and the "lack of leadership," and
  Ford's "insensitivity" toward the unemployed.
• Ford said Carter lacked details and specifics in
  the majority of his responses and accused him of
  playing "a little fast and loose with the facts."
  Ford talked about getting jobs by "expanding the
  private sector ... reducing federal taxes ... and
  holding the lid on federal spending."
• This first debate in Philadelphia was remembered
  for a 27-minute delay in which the sound on stage
  went dead. Neither candidate moved for fear he
  may be caught on camera in an unflattering pose.
  For almost 30 minutes the nation watched the two
  candidates standing mannequin-like at their
  podiums while the technical problems were fixed.
• Ford performed well

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The Second Debate

• Topic of Debate International Policy
• Ford was expected to do well, but Carter appeared
  more confident and challenged the President on
  his international policy leadership, saying he
  surrendered it to Secretary of State Henry
  Kissinger.
• In what is referred to as the blooper heard
  'round the world, Ford stumbled over a question
  about Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union after
  New York Times reporter Max Frankel asked him
  about Soviet domination of that area.

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The Second Debate (Continued)The Blooper Heard
Round the Worldhttp//youtube.com/watch?vfCM2L
w4Yo_g

• Ford (in response to Frankels initial question)
  "There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe,
  and there never will be under a Ford
  administration."
• Frankel responded "I'm sorry ... did I
  understand you to say, sir, that the Soviets are
  not using Eastern Europe as their own sphere of
  influence in occupying most of the countries
  there?"
• Ford responded "I don't believe ... that the
  Yugoslavians consider themselves dominated by the
  Soviet Union. I don't believe that the Romanians
  consider themselves dominated by the Soviet
  Union. I don't believe that the Poles consider
  themselves dominated by the Soviet Union. Each of
  these countries is independent, autonomous, it
  has its own territorial integrity, and the United
  States does not concede that those countries are
  under the domination of the Soviet Union.
• In response Carter said he'd like to see Ford
  "convince the Polish-Americans and the
  Czech-Americans and the Hungarian-Americans in
  this country that those countries don't live
  under the domination and supervision of the
  Soviet Union behind the Iron Curtain.
• CONSEQUENCES OF FORDS STATEMENTS
• News reports about the debate were dominated by
  Ford's statement and its potential effect on the
  race.
• A post-debate Gallup poll on October 15 showed
  Carter six percentage points ahead of Ford, 48
  percent to 42 percent.

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Third Debate

• The third debate was open to any topic.
• Ford and Carter discussed a wide array of issues
  in their third and final presidential debate.
• The questions covered the problems of the cities,
  minorities, gun control, the Supreme Court, and
  the issue of wholesale amendments to the
  Constitution.

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Significance of the Debates

• Carter himself said later on "If it hadn't been
  for the debates, I would have lost. They
  established me as competent on foreign and
  domestic affairs and gave the viewers reason to
  think that Jimmy Carter had something to offer."

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Election Results
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• QUESTIONS?