The 1980 Primaries And Now

[DemocratSinceBirth]

In 1980 Ted Kennedy challenged the incumbent president of his own party, Jimmy Carter for his party's nomination...Challenging the incumbent president of your own party is usually verboten because it signals he or she is vulnerable...He started with a huge national lead but that evaporated when he lost Iowa and New Hampshire...Party leaders called on him to quit the race...Jimmy Carter was already weakened in the polls because of the hostage crisis and the struggling economy but Ted Kennedy refused...He was losing southern primaries and caucuses , literally registering in the single digits and teens...


He soldiered on... He then turned his campaign around and won some big primaries including California and New York...Still he came to the Convention with about sixty percent of the delegates as Carter...He then tried to have all the delegates released so they could vote their conscience...He was denied...He never made a concession speech... He never held up Carter's in the traditional victory pose...

The gist of my story...It's too early for any candidate to quit...

[Drunken Irishman]

1. And did that ultimately hurt Carter?

I get your point, but I don't think a divided convention will help the Democrats. The media today would have a field day with it, showing how the party was in such disarray. It could get ugly.