Blue
Our boy celebrates a birthday and we rank elections.
Tomorrow is Blue’s birthday. He turns 11. I have been a part of Blue’s life since he was 4. Frankly, I can’t imagine a world without him, and I bet he would say the same about me if he could speak English.
If you've been around Okay History for a while now, you’ve seen pictures of Blue twice a week. He is a black-haired chow-rottweiler-lab mix, a unique blend that mirrors his unique personality. He sits right in the middle of the dog size spectrum; his head meets your knee and weighs about 55 pounds. His face, a window to his soul, deceives you into thinking he is a puppy when, in fact, he is an old man.
Blue’s tail, with its streaks of brown, is a beacon of his mood; he wags it when he is happy, curls it out when navigating the neighborhood, and goes inward when he is nervous. By all accounts, Blue is a perfectly normal, sensitive dog with a touch of individuality.
I love everything about Blue. I love his playful nature and his peacefulness. I admire his willingness to tell people to stay away and how he melts into Anonymous’s arms when he feels safe. Blue is unapologetically loyal and teaches how love works because he chooses who he loves.
He’s the best dog I have ever had. We are best friends, and I’m happy to know he will live forever.
Blue leaves an impression, that’s for sure, like the results of these two presidential elections, which left two people feeling blue because they lost badly.
Let's dive in.
37: The Presidential Election of 1964
Election Date: November 3, 1964
The Candidates:
LBJ was President Kennedy’s Vice President when he took the president's oath of office on November 22, 1963. He was standing next to First Lady Jackie Kennedy, still wearing her blood-soaked dress due to an assassin’s bullet that murdered her husband. Johnson spent the next year implementing Kennedy’s programs while trying to carve out his identity. He was an easy, safe choice for Democrats.
The Republicans battled between moderates and conservatives for the soul of the Party. They handed their future to Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, who thought decisions to drop nuclear bombs should be left to individual generals. Was this their best option?
Major Issue of the Day:
The country was still healing from Kennedy’s assassination. The war in Vietnam was ramping up. Civil Rights were front and center. Don’t forget about nuclear weapons as the Cold War entered its second decade.
The Winner:
Fear.
The 1964 election featured the most talked about political ad in history. Named Daisy, the ad shows an adorable young child being annihilated by a nuclear bomb as she stops to smell flowers.
LBJ’s campaign wanted people to think children would die horrible deaths because one of Goldwater’s generals decided that they needed to drop one somewhere.
Not to be outdone, Goldwater ran on racial fear, telling white Americans in the Civil Rights era they would end up being the victims. So either way, fear was coming out on top.
The States in the Electoral College:
50. This was the first election Washington, DC, got to participate in, and they joined the party and voted for Johnson.
The Electoral College had 538 members, and the winner needed 270 votes.
The 1964 election was a landslide. Johnson whipped Goldwater, securing 61% of the vote, the most by a Democratic nominee. He carried 44 states, while Goldwater managed to hang on to a few southern ones, along with Arizona.
The 2021 OKH Presidential Ranking:
LBJ sneaks into the top ten at #9. My brother disagreed with this. Too high.
Why Did I Rank it Here:
I feel like the fear part of this election was unnecessary. Did we need to scare the heck out of people about Goldwater when he was doing it well on his own? It felt like too much.
Despite the loss, less than twenty years later, the conservatives would come out on top.
Let’s dive in.
36: The Presidential Election of 1980
Election Date: November 4, 1980
The Candidates:
Jimmy Carter was the surprising winner in 1976, as the country made it clear that it wanted to cut ties with Watergate and the guy we overwhelmingly elected in 1972.
Ronald Reagan, the former Hollywood actor and Governor of California, secured the Republican nomination after coming up just short of topping former president Gerald Ford four years earlier. Reagan carried the Goldwater Conservative movement, and the GOP's shift to the hard right was on.
Major Issue of the Day:
Americans were held as hostages in Iran, and our response was to have an energy crisis and high inflation. President Carter called on the country to wear sweaters and get more exercise, even though he almost collapsed when he went outside to run.
The Winner:
The market.
Reagan’s victory brought a great deal of government work into the private sector. People's feelings about the government changed from good to hatred because the Great Communicator said so.
The States in the Electoral College:
50. This was a rare moment in the 20th century when West Virginia and Washington, DC, agreed on something. They both went to Carter. I wonder if other states make fun of the Mountaineer state for not voting for Ronnie twice.
The Electoral College had 538 members, and the winner needed 270 votes.
Reagan walloped Carter by eight million votes. Like Johnson in ’64, Reagan carried 44 states, including Massachusetts. Independent candidate John Anderson needs to be mentioned here. Although he did not win any state, he did win over 5 million votes, most of which are believed to have gone to Carter. Not that would have changed anything. Even if Carter got all five million, he still would have lost by 3 million because that’s how math works.
The 2021 OKH Presidential Ranking:
You can read where we ranked Reagan in the post about the whooping he put on Carter’s Vice President four years later.
Why Did I Rank it Here:
This is the first election I remember. The day after the election is one of my first memories. It’s up there when my entire family left me in a store in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and I just stood inside waiting for someone to return. Thankfully, someone did.
Also, I can’t stand the Are you better off today than you were four years ago? line that every candidate has mouthed off about since.
Okay, thanks for reading. Blue says hi and will celebrate responsibly tomorrow. See you on Monday!
Okay,
Chris
I was born in 1980 (July 22). Carter was President when I was born, but by the time I celebrated Christmas for the first time Reagan was waiting in the wings.