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Thursday, October 02, 2008
Hugh Hewitt :: Townhall.com Columnist
Replaying 1976 With a Different Ending
by Hugh Hewitt
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With unemployment at 10.2%, what will happen by the end of Obama's first term?



The 1976 presidential election between Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter need in a dead heat. Time Magazine printed two covers, one announcing Carter's victory which was used, the other a "He Did It!" headline to go with the Ford upset win at the end.

Carter won by a nose, of course, and we have Iran on the brink possessing nuclear weapons as a result. But Republicans dismayed by the last week's trend in the polls towards Obama should recall that (1) that trend reversed already and is down to four points in the most recent Gallup tracking poll, and (2) the 34 days ahead are an eternity in politics.

Jimmy Carter closed his convention with a 33 point lead in 1976.

Ford's disastrous debate in which he declared Poland "free" occurred on October 6!

The electorate then was angry at Ford for pardoning Nixon and worried about a stagnant economy and the Georgia governor's inexperience. And still the race ended effectively tied. Carter took 23 states with 297 electoral votes, while Ford won 27 states and 240.

There are huge differences at work today though: Obama is not a conventional Democrat but from the far left edge of his party. Jimmy Carter had served in the Navy and had executive experience as a governor. Obama served as a community organizer and his only executiv eexperince comes from hispartnership with Bill Ayers at Chicago's Annenberg Challenge.

The Dems supporting Carter in 1976 were representatives of the party of JFK and Truman. Obama is bringing with him the forces of Kos and Michael Moore, and is partnered with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. Continued...
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About The Author

Hugh Hewitt is host of a nationally syndicated radio talk show. Hugh Hewitt's new book is The War On The West.

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Reply # 1
Date: Oct 5, 2008 - 8:08 PM EST
Obama, Dems, & the economy
So, what do the steep gas price hikes, the failure of wall street that led to the bailout, and the recent rise in joblessness have in common? They all occurred about a year after the democrats took control of congress! Bush & crowd have made mistakes, but they steered the economy successfully through 9-11 and past Kerry's accusations of failure. But when the dems took charge of congress and focused on getting out of Iraq and holding hearings on everything Bush did; they and Bush's crew responding left their oversight roles they should be doing falter. So do we really want more of the dem congress with Obama at the helm to steer our economy?? Or do we want McCain to provide a check & balance to secure our future? I vote for the latter.
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Reply # 2
Date: Oct 5, 2008 - 5:26 PM EST
How does MSNBC stay on the air?
Olberman can kiss my foot. He doesn't realize he chases off any free thinker every nite.
Fortunately no one watches MSNBC, only hard left liberals, so Olberman and Chris Matthews are preaching to the choir. They won't turn the tide for the election one way or the other...

I am not worried about that MSNBC group affecting anyone. Word to the wise:
NO ONE IS WATCHING YOU KEITH, THEY ARE ALL WATCHING BILL O'REILLY---THAT "BOLD FRESH PIECE OF HUMANITY...."
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