Introduction

The election of 1980 did more than break the Democrats' control of the White House and Congress. It was in the atomized, fractionated, unstable, and frustrating politics that the election of 1980 took place—and seemingly transformed the scene. Reagan, unlike most other Republican nominees and presidents, worked hard for the election of others on the ticket. In a symbolic ceremony, he and his running mate, George Bush, appeared on the steps of the Capitol as the campaign began and, with Republican members of Congress and GOP congressional candidates, signed a pledge of the program they would enact if they came to power. Reagan received an absolute majority of the popular votes in a three-way race with Carter and Independent John B. Anderson, who drew off small amounts of support from both parties and gained 7 percent of total. The political world looks different now than it did when they came together between the covers of the predecessor volume in 1978.