Why did the Democrats nominate Mondale in 1984

[OSR stands with Israel]

That made no sense as Mondale was the vice president to Jimmy Carter who was very unpopular and was voted out in a landslide. So you would think that they would try to go to someone who wasnt associated with Carter to run vs Reagan in 1984. Yah they would still lose big but it would be more like 1988 then 1984.

[OSR stands with Israel]

The "beef" was actually the right answer.  Would Gary Hart have done any better? Maybe a little, but probably not so much in the end.  It is hard to believe that some thought Mondale had a chance after the first debate...then after the Reagan "age" answer in debate #2, it turned into a near 50 state sweep.

Democrats weren't winning in '84 given the economic improvement from early '83 right through '84. 

And yet after 1982, Reagan was as widely viewed as roadkill, just like Clinton after 1994 and Obama after 2010.

Even right after 1982 and 2010 I would have predicted Reagan and Obama to win reelection .Clinton after 1994 though I would expect him to lose.