I was 10 years old when Richard Nixon destroyed George McGovern in 1972. But already I was fascinated by politics. I watched the DNC and RNC conventions in their entirety - which quite amazed my parents.
I will admit to being for Carter in 1976. Hell, I was only 14 and still hadn't formed my ideology yet. But I was mesmerized by Reagan's RNC speech of 1980 and my conservative roots took hold. I went into Marine Corp boot camp in February 1981 and here I am today!
Well, you are a youngster. I was 18 in 1976 & I somehow managed to vote against the peanut farmer. But, like you, 1980 was when I became an American. I had just come back from a trip that included Communist Eastern Europe. That is when I realized that the press & my professors had been lying their asses off to me.
I was 14 years old shining my cavalry boots at Culver Military Academy when I heard Nixon resigned. I was sad Carter beat Ford. I was a senior at Indiana University when Reagan beat Carter; I watched into the wee hours of the morning with glee as one old line liberal after another was swept away. In my home office I have a tintype reproduction of the front page of the Bloomington Herald-Telephone of March 31, 1981, with two memorable headlines: “Hoosiers, NCAA Champs” and “Reagan Condition Excellent After Surgeons Remove Bullet.”
I'm a little older, and got involved with the '64 election. I got my first lessons in media bias that year.