Campaign ’76 – our third installment (as promised) – cover the period of September 1-20, 1976 and as reported by CBS Radio News.
As the campaign got rolling – vice-Presidential candidate Walter Mondale concentrated on California, considering it a pivotal state in 1976. Meanwhile, President Ford’s campaign was rolling, emerging from a veil of secrecy. And dirty politics apparently wasn’t immune as evidence of the Arizona race showed an abundance of nasty all over the Grand Canyon State.
1976 was also the 2nd anniversary of President Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon for the Watergate debacle – many wondered if this page of Americas history had indeed been turned. According to a CBS News poll – the 1976 Presidential election was considered a horserace, as polls indicated Jimmy Carter’s lead was shrinking. Bob Dole, the GOP vice-Presidential candidate was being assessed by the media. The question was whether Dole was a “hatchet man” or a Needle expert?
New polls showed Carter support in the South getting stronger but the race was far from over.
And the new election contribution rules caught many’s attention. Seems there was a cap on Political campaigns at $21 million and contributions could not exceed $20,000 – the list of apparent no-nos and illegalities was impressive but it kept most candidates honest.
The Ford campaign was trying on a new tactic to see if it would work – Stay At Home And Look Presidential was a strategy many in the Ford campaign thought was working. Even the Carter-Ford race in California was looking surprisingly close (since Reagan was the former Governor and subsequently a big base for GOP support.
Undaunted, the Jimmy Carter Campaign tried on a tactic borrowed from the Harry Truman playbook – the Whistle Stop Tour through the Mid-west.
Worked for Harry and it seemed to be working for Jimmy – steam engines, bunting and observation platform speeches – the crowd ate it up.
And that’s what was going on in September of 1976 as reported by CBS News and the program Campaign ’76.
