In all fairness, I think Ford would have done better on the economy and foreign policy than Carter. And it would have strengthened the moderate GOP Forces and would have prevented Ronald Reagan from entering the White House.
1980 could have gone that way:
Vice President Dole becomes the Republican nominee after beating Bush for the nomination. He picks John Anderson as his running mate. Democrats nominate Walter Mondale, who wins against Ted Kennedy. California Governor Jerry Brown, who suspended his camopaign after the first primaries, is nominated for Vice President.
Senator Walter Mondale (D-MN)/Governor Jerry Brown (D-CA): 304 EV. (50.4%)Vice President Robert Dole (R-KS)/Congressman John B. Anderson: 234 EV. (47.5%)President Mondale presides over an era of economic stability and no major foreign crises. In 1984, Bush finnaly is nominated by the GOP but loses against the incumbent.
President Walter Mondale (D-MN)/Vice President Jerry Brown (D-CA): 337 EV. (52.8%)Former CIA Director George Bush (R-TX)/Senator Paul Laxalt (D-NV): 201 EV. (46.4%)In 1988, with the end of the Cold War in sight (President Mondale negotiated well with Gorbachev, and Soviet Union collapsed anyway a year later), Vice President Brown is the Democratic nominee. However, he loses in a very close race against Jack Kemp, who is defeated for reelection in 1992 by Bill Clinton due to the ecomimic downturn in the early 1990s.
