[Vigilanteman]

I'll see George Will's 15,951,378 facts from 1964 and raise him 8,423,115 facts from 1980 and 16,878,120 facts from 1984, Reagan's margins over Carter and Mondale, respectively.

There is nobody in the GOP who could have beaten LBJ in 1964 as it was largely a sympathy vote for JFK, whose assassination was less than one year old at the time. LBJ had wrapped himself in the JFK coffin flag extremely well, so the comparison to 1984 is even better. Reagan was running for a second term; JFK was running for a second term.

JFK had really been assassinated less than a year before whereas Reagan's attempted assassination was nearly four years old and had faded from the public mind.

Don't forget also that one of JFK's final acts as president was to sign a massive tax cut which was just kicking in full steam by the fall of 1964.

[Ohioan]

Your comments are apt. Note my post #29.

[fatnotlazy]

Thank you! All these pundits proclaiming Ted Cruz can’t win conveniently forget that Ronald Reagan also “couldn’t win.” But he did. Twice.