President Reagan Humiliated The Democrats in 1984

The US Presidential election in 1984 remains one of the most lopsided victories in history.

President Reagan ended up taking 525 electoral votes while his opponent, former Vice President Walter Mondale, walked away with just 13.

The popular vote was also catastrophic for the Democrats, as the Republicans would win by a full 18 points.

States such as California, New York and Oregon - which are now firmly blue states - went to the Republicans in 1984.

Despite all of this, President Reagan hadn't yet hit his peak in popularity - that would come in 1986 with an approval rating that hit almost 70%. This is an unheard of number for a two-term President in his second term.

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It was 1984 and "Morning in America".

After a rocky couple of years in the early 1980s, the United States was booming.

Inflation was way down. Economic growth was the highest that it had been in thirty years. The United States was respected again on the world stage.

Taking on an incumbent President in the midst of a booming economy is somewhat of a suicide mission - on the worst of days, an incumbent President is tough to beat. The Democrats had no chance.

Former Vice President Walter Mondale barely defeated Gary Hart to win the Democratic nomination - hardly a ringing endorsement from his party.

Many top names in the Democratic party declined to run in 1984 - they surely knew that they would be a lamb being led to slaughter.

When Walter Mondale received the Democratic nomination, President Reagan was already polling 11-13 points ahead, depending on who you asked.

Over the course of the next few months, President Reagan would continue to surge ahead, thanks to a strong economy and a number of classic Ronald Reagan moments that made his opponent look foolish.

There were three big moments that stood out for President Reagan, aka "The Great Communicator":



a) The Second Presidential Debate. After getting panned for his performance in the first debate, President Reagan came out firing, and turned the question of his age against Walter Mondale, saying that he would not hold Mondale's youth and inexperience against him. Even Mondale laughed that what would become an all-time President debate moment.

b) October 26th, 1984 campaign stop. At a rally in Connecticut, President Reagan argued that Mondale was naive when it came to the defense of his country. An audience member screamed out that Mondale didn't know what he was doing, and President Reagan quickly smiled and agreed with her.

c) The Address to the Nation. The night before the 1984 Presidential election, President Reagan sought to turn the knife in Mondale by addressing the nation. Reagan destroyed the Democrats in the speech, and also threw in some classic President Reagan lines, including: "when their knee jerks, we get kicked".

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President Reagan was calm, cool and relaxed in the months leading up to the election, and why not - he was well ahead in the polls and Walter Mondale was seen as an easy opponent to beat.

In the end, Walter Mondale ended up being the sacrificial lamb as President Reagan romped his way to a second term in the White House.

It's hard to imagine such a decisive victory taking place in this day and age, given the polarized state of the country.

Filed under: General Knowledge