alternatehistory.com

President Moonbeam: The Story of an Altered America



(Title card made by sargenthawk)


----

Chapter 1: Democracy At Its Finest

----

"Well, let it be known to the citizens of Eastern Europe that under a Ford administration, they will not be doomed to living out the rest of their lives as satellites to the totalitarian Soviet Union."
- Gerald Ford, Second Televised Presidential Debate, October 6, 1976

----

Initially, the 1976 election was expected to be a blowout, a Carter victory of epic proportions. And, at the time, those predictions looked to be coming true, after the Democratic National Convention, Governor Carter had a 33-point lead over President Ford, in the popular vote. In the Republican primaries, the moderate Ford had to compete with his conservative challenger, former California Governor Ronald Reagan, in a very close competition that had to be decided at the convention. There, at the convention, President Ford also officially nominated Kansas Senator Robert Dole as his running mate for the coming election. Meanwhile, in the Democratic primaries, Former Georgia Governor James Earl Carter, an almost unknown name among the crowded field of candidates just a year earlier, was able to win many of the early primaries and put his name out there as the frontrunner. The Governor would then later go on to route the hastily made ABC (Anyone But Carter) Coalition, and choose Minnesota Senator Walter Mondale as his running mate.

(Source: Cold Hard Politics: The Evolution of US Politics Throughout the Cold War)

Historians often remark that Gerald R. Ford was an excellent campaigner, and there is much truth to their claims. In 1976, President Ford was able to turn Governor Carter's huge lead into a manageable and very close race. Though even more impressive is the way that he accomplished that insurmountable task. Instead of taking to the campaign trail early on, like many incumbents before him, President Ford instead decided to try a new persona, the "tested leader" persona. The essence of which was, instead of campaigning and winning over votes at rallies like the average candidate, Ford would prove that he was a very capable Commander-In-Chief by presiding over the Bicentennial, meeting foreign leaders, and handling crises both foreign and abroad. This made the President look like a good, competent leader who proved that he could move beyond his predecessor's mistakes and carve his own legacy in the coming years.

But, defending his record wasn't the only thing that President Ford did during election season, he also attacked Governor Carter, calling him inexperienced, most specifically stating that Carter "lacked the necessary experience to be a national leader". Ford also accused the Governor of being vague on many important issues.

(Source: Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library)

As the election drew closer, both of the campaigns began to make crucial gaffes. For instance, in an interview with Playboy magazine, Jimmy Carter stated that he "lusted in his heart" for other women. The Ford campaign pounced on his mistake and stole many key evangelical and female voters. Though, the Georgia Governor wouldn't be the only one making gaffes, either. While presidential nominee, Gerald Ford remained clean (other than his refusal to publically reveal the reasons why he pardoned former President Richard Nixon) his running mate, Kansas Senator Bob Dole, did not. During the Vice Presidential Debate, Dole, a World War II veteran, exclaimed that Democrat presidents are unprepared far war and that the casualties of Democrat wars far exceeded those of Republican wars. Many people felt that this was an unfair and harsh criticism.

(Source: Election of 76': The Troubled Electorate)

By election day, the outcome of the election was still very much in the air. While many political pundits predicted a Carter victory, their predictions were not firm nor did they predict a win of any large magnitude. So, when the results finally came in on that faithful day of November 2, 1976, not many people were shocked that by the time they finally went to sleep, the states of Ohio, Wisconsin, and Mississippi were still undecided. This confusion lead into the following morning, as the aforementioned states still did not choose a winning candidate. But, by the afternoon, Ohio, and its 25 electoral votes, would finally be called for President Ford, but those votes were still not enough to win the election. Though, just mere hours later, both Wisconsin and Mississippi were called for the President, giving Ford 284 electoral votes and Governor Carter 254 electoral votes, the election was over, and Ford had won, which was surprising in itself, but even more surprising was the total popular vote percentages, which were: Carter: 49.4% Ford: 48.7%. It seemed that even though he won the electoral vote, Ford lost the popular vote.

(Source: Election of 76': The Troubled Electorate)

As could be expected, people took to the street to protest the election of President Ford, even though his opponent, former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter won the popular vote. The protests would go on for a few weeks, until the electorate realized that no matter what they did, they were still in no power to make any real changes. Luckily, for the general public, there were people in positions of power who tried to appeal the election results and start recounts in the three close states. Their attempts would be partially successful as they would get their desired recounts, but the states still went for Ford. Of course there were still people who wished to change the system completely, one of those men were Indiana Senator Birch Bayh, he started more heavily advocating one of his lifelong wishes, the abolition of the electoral college.

Despite these efforts, Gerald R. Ford would still be inaugurated for his own term on January 20, 1977.

(Source: Riot and Struggle: The Seventies)

----

Well, ladies and gentlemen, it appears that the candidate with the fewer votes has won.
- Walter Cronkite, CBS Evening News, November 3, 1976

----

President Gerald Ford (R-MI)/Senator Robert Dole (R-KS) 284 EVs 48.7%

Former Governor James Carter (D-GA)/Senator Walter Mondale (D-MN) 254 EVs 49.4%

Top