[Lakeshark]

Actually, Reagan was tarred the same way as Palin, and considered unelectable and extreme. He was not ahead in the early going, nor was he the front runner ever. He was behind Jimmy Carter by 30-35 points with as little as 6 months before the election.

[CA Conservative]

Actually, Reagan was tarred the same way as Palin, and considered unelectable and extreme. He was not ahead in the early going, nor was he the front runner ever. He was behind Jimmy Carter by 30-35 points with as little as 6 months before the election.

Wrong. I actually looked it up before I posted. Reagan was the frontrunner for the 1980 GOP nomination from the outset. Bush gave him a bit of a run at the outset, but Reagan was the statistical favorite. While polls in 1978 (before the hostage crisis and before the primaries) showed Carter with a big lead over Reagan, right after the GOP Convention Reagan led Carter. The rest of the campaign, the two were close in the polls, with the lead changing hands several times. Just before the debate, Carter had a slight lead.