Blowout
Basketball games and presidential elections can have large margins of victory.
We are in the middle of the college basketball tournament season, an exciting time where upsets happen and the occasional blowout score takes place. When a team blows out another, it is usually because one team has superior talent, coaching, and resources. You don’t happen to luck your way in a blowout victory.
Take the University of Connecticut. Or the school commonly known as UConn. The Huskies are the reigning national champions in men’s basketball, and their women are the preeminent program in the sport. They are top dawgs.
UConn played two games in the tournament's opening weekend and won each contest by an average of 28 points. They won their first game of the 2024 tournament against a school named after a cowboy hat by about 700 points.
There’s a good chance that UConn will cruise to another title. Last night, they dispatched San Diego State, the team they defeated in last year's championship game. The Huskies won by 30.
But is it good for the sport to have such margins of victory? Do these victories reflect more on their opponents' inability, or is UConn just that superior?
I pose the same question regarding presidential elections. Just because someone won by large UConnesque margins, is that good for the country? What do we get out of such overwhelming support for one man? Let’s explore this idea with the next two presidential election rankings—both blowouts.
Let's dive in.
45: The Presidential Election of 1792
Election Date: November 2 – December 5, 1792
The Candidates:
George Washington was the reigning champion, winning the presidency in the first-ever election.
He faced himself, which told the country you can’t stop Washington from winning an election; you can only hope to contain him.
Major Issue of the Day:
At this point, the United States was a toddler, and its daddy was still in the home. There were issues in Europe, on the Western frontier, and figuring out how this grand experiment should work—you know, typical stuff we make toddlers worry about.
Of course, the biggest issue was how Washington would act as president after he was first elected. Is he going to sit around the house forever? Not the White House, mind you. He never lived there. But would this be the making of an American King?
The Winner:
Consistency.
If you want to accomplish anything, you need to be consistent. Unless you have bad habits and consistently do those things, then you need to stop.
It’s funny how consistency works.
The States in the Electoral College:
15. The capital was Philadelphia, and DC didn’t exist, although it would have been great for Washington to have lived in Washington.
The Electoral College had 132 members, and the winner needed 67 votes. George swept every state like UConn swept through last year's tournament.
The only decision that needed to be made was who would be Vice President. That honor would go to John Adams, who squeaked out the 8/9 seed game victory over George Clinton.
The 2021 OKH Presidential Ranking:
Washington is number two in the rankings. I’m not sure I will ever rank him one, and I think the idea that he should be number one because he did it so well is a silly argument. It’s too extreme. That means he was either the best president ever or the worst because the country fell apart.
We recruited Washington to be the point guard he showed us to be, and he did it well.
Why Did I Rank it Here:
As a kid, I played a lot of basketball by myself. It’s not because I had no friends, because we know how popular I was. I would spend a lot of time shooting instead of reading books, but I got to be pretty good at it.
When I ended up playing with friends, I would sometimes play one-on-five games during recess—me against five other people. I won more than I lost.
That was a fun memory.
What was I talking about?
The election domination continued in the 20th century as the country stamped its approval of the sitting president.
Let’s dive in.
44: The Presidential Election of 1984
Election Date: November 6, 1984
The Candidates:
Ronald Reagan was the reigning champion, having dispatched Jimmy Carter four years earlier. Everything appeared to be going well since because we began hating our government.
Walter Mondale, Vice President under the defeated Carter, became the Democratic nominee. That’s right, the guy on the ticket no one cared about during the last election would now be the guy charged with defeating the guy who tossed out his boss. Solid game plan.
It’s like me playing one-on-one with one of the guys who played with four friends against me in games. There’s no chance this guy was going to win.
The 1984 election featured the first female candidate nominated for Vice President. Geraldine Ferraro, a Congresswoman from New York, was tapped to bring in the women's vote. She was like a three-point specialist, brought in hoping to use her unique qualities to create an upset.
Major Issue of the Day:
We saw Apple debut its first computer. The Cold War continued, and we played it out in movies like the Rocky series. We declared another war, this one on drugs.
The Olympics returned to the United States, and everyone played along through games at McDonald's. What a great American tradition—celebrating sports while eating unathletically.
The Winner:
Scandals.
If you loved scandals, then you LOVED the Ronald Reagan years.
There was Iran-Contra, the HUD grant rigging that indicted the Secretary of Interior and sentenced him to five years probation. The Savings and Loans scandal cost taxpayers about $150 billion. Those are just off the top of my head. Reagan won titles and then got sanctioned by the sanctioning body.
The States in the Electoral College:
50. By 1984, the District of Columbia was so blue it voted for Mondale.
There were 538 members of the Electoral College, and the winner needed to secure 270 votes.
Reagan’s Morning in America happened when he woke up on November 7 and saw that we won 49 states to Mondale’s one.
49-1.
I was on an AAU team in 8th grade that won a game 124-23. That wasn’t very fun.
Reagan flipped five states from 1980. Rhode Island, Georgia, Hawaii, and West Virginia went to the GOP. As did Maryland. You are really blowing out your opponent when Maryland votes for the GOP.
The 2021 OKH Presidential Ranking:
President Reagan clocks in at 8. He did win the Cold War—or did he? Anonymous and I are watching a documentary on Netflix, Max, or Prime – I can’t remember which one – about how the Cold War is still going on.
Eight is about as high as I will go as we move away from his administration. I still can’t believe we named the airport after him and erected a statue—it's just bonkers.
Why Did I Rank it Here:
It’s crazy to think just how popular Reagan was after he won the 1980 election. He did get shot, which endears you to Americans.
We still use his phrase, “Are you better off now than you were four years ago.” The Four Years Ago question in the 21st century and 24-hour news cycle might as well be asking if we were better off 40 years ago.
I’m just not sure we were served well by not putting up a better candidate to confront Reagan and his conservative policies.
What do you think? Did I hit the mark on these rankings? Or did I throw up a lot of bricks?
Anonymous and I went to see a play about Nancy Reagan last night. It was okay, which I guess is a compliment, considering my branding. The subplot involved Indigenous people living in New Mexico and confronting the government to help them. I enjoyed it.
Easter is on Sunday. Anonymous, Blue, and I wish you and your family a blessed Easter.
I’ll be back on Monday. Hope your BRACKETS will be okay over the weekend. Appreciate you.
Okay,
Chris
I remember that 124-23 game! Coach Hopkins told us at the end of the 3rd quarter we weren’t allowed to dribble for the rest of the game… everything had to be a bounce pass. We never should’ve been in that league. It was like we were playing against 1st graders.
I predict that the election after Washington’s second term will be pretty high in your rankings.