Auburn University - Glomerata Yearbook (Auburn, AL)

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and Finger Pointing iw ii Y 1,2 When all the shouting was over, and the votes were counted there came a surprise. Reagan had won by an overwhelming margin. The election everyone thought would be so Close became a landslide vic- tory for Ronald Reagan. Capturing 44 states, Reagan became the 40th president of the United States. llllvlllfwlz

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Ronald Reagan, the Republican candidate, built up his conserva- tive, western-oriented base early and continued his campaign by at- tempting to reach out to more mod- erate voters. With such slogans as Thetime is Now and Let's Make America Great Again. Regan appealed to voters tired of fighting inflation and watching America get taken advantage of abroad. Reagan took as his running mate, Texas conservative George Bush, to bal- ance his highly conservative ticket. Reagan advocated a 30 percent tax cut, domestic energy produc- tion, strengthening Social Security and building up America's defense capabilities. It was his stance on military spending and his views on the Soviet Union that led people to label him a warmonger. But a newly conservative America gave him the support he needed in the end. jimmy Carter, the thirty-ninth president of the United States, was re-nominated by his Democratic Party despite any hopes of Edward Kennedy. The Democrats believed Election 1980 Carter to be their best chance for a second democratic term. Vice- president Walter Mondale re- mained Carter's running mate in his quest for re-election. Carter's early campaigning was curtailed by the hostage crisis, when he declared he was president and his priorities lay with the job. Carter concentrated his campaign getting people to re- member the pluses of his adminis- tration. But voters found it hard to decide and at election time there was a majority of undecided voters Carter had his hopes on. National feelings leaned toward change and Carter's hopes were dashed. From the beginning, when john Anderson announced his indepen- dent candidacy for president, he suffered from a lack of funds. With- out enough money, Anderson tried valiantly to get enough exposure to make his name known. He had trouble gettingthatall-importantair time without sufficient funds. But Anderson didn't let money stop him. He continued campaigning even when most people thought his f A s ses- cause was lost. He spoke plainly, not caring about satisfying all the people. Anderson spoke his some- times highly liberal views that didn't endear him to many people, butviews that set him apart from the other candidates' loose rhetoric. In the end, Anderson was mainly hoping for five percent of the pop- ular vote to get him government funds to pay off his campaign debts. And the final tally showed America thought enough of him to give him seven percent. Your Alternative in l980! Ed Clark's Libertarian pamphlets pro- claimed a new approach from the traditional answers of the two-party system. Clark insisted America did have a choice in him, rather than the two evils. He based his platform on common sense and the principle of individual rights. Clark believed in giving America a choice, through his Libertarian party. He believed in giving the largest tax cut in history, decreasing military spending and non-intervention. ? - Abby Pettiss 25