They would say the same about Reagan today. Or Washington for that matter.
You said...
They would say the same about Reagan today. Or Washington for that matter.
They did say the same thing about Reagan. In fact, I remember reading at the time the Carter folks considered Reagan the easiest to beat. In fact, there was an article at the time written how the Carter re election team breathed a sigh of relief when Reagan got the nomination.
Even many in the GOP at that time insisted that a Reagan nomination would result in Carter being re elected. Nothing changes