One of Caddell’s first candidate’s to help was Jimmy Carter. Klein explains “that it was love at first sight between him and Jimmy Carter…the liberal Southerner who could win the confidence of Wallace voters,”(32). At a dinner party after the New Hampshire primary, Carter “was blistered by the assembled liberals for not being more vocal in his opposition to the Vietnam War,”(37). In saying this, he upset them for talking in that manner. But it was a new start, and everyone still followed him through.
Caddell helped to change the way that presidents would be elected in the future. On December 10, 1976, he wrote a 62-page memo called “Initial Working Paper on Political Strategy.” He wrote “…it is my thesis that governing with public approval requires a continuing political campaign,”(38). Thus the Permanent Campaign was created. All future presidents would run their administrations from a consultant’s-eye view. But as the years went on, the Carter presidency had turned into a mess. Carter was paying the price for the inflation in the guns-and-butter deficits, and for the rise in oil prices. He wrote a memo “Of Crisis and Opportunity,” and Jimmy Carter’s presidency and the memo would be remembered in the future by one word, malaise, a vague feeling depression or illness. Had he run the country into a rut? In the end, his cabinet ended up resigning and many went to work for Kennedy.
The first time Ronald Reagan ran for president, he had lost to Gerald Ford. Being an ex-actor, not many people took him seriously, and also John Sears had been put on Reagan’s team as a political consultant. That was the reason that Reagan lost to Ford in the primaries in the 1976 New Hampshire primaries. But when Reagan decided to run again in 1980, he was more than ready. He was running against George H.W. Bush, who was then a bit awkward in public. For example, before the New Hampshire primary, “…he was sandbagged by Reagan at what was supposed to be a one-on-one debate at Nashua High School,”(77). Reagan had insisted that other candidates be able be allowed to debate, which upset Bush. This sandbagging had been planned by Sears, and it was a rare tactic move that actually worked.
Reagan never asked anything from the American people. Not only was habits of citizenship allowed to fade away due to the Great Affluence, but civic irresponsibility was encouraged. But he had arguments for all these positions. He said the “Conservatives believed that it was important for government to recede from its central position in American life, and allow free enterprise to flourish…”(83). Reagan’s style of leadership would later contribute to the belittling of American politics. Government was now the enemy of freedom. Reagan had a carefully programmed political style.
Later on in his run for a second term, his age issue was brought up. In his second debate against Walter Mondale, he said “…I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience,”(86). And with that, Reagan’s second term was assured.
Not only presidencies were the best. None of them have actually even been good. There’s always a mistake made and looked down upon by Americans. While Carter had messed up his presidency, Reagan turned out to be a fine leader, but he too made mistakes. Not every president is perfect. They only have slip ups because they do what they think is best for the people but in the end it turns out not to be the right choice.
